The erstwhile presidential candidacy of Mitt Romney has drawn much attention to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (a.k.a. the Mormon church), of which he is a member. Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, is certainly not the first Mormon to hold powerful political office in the United States. Several other states, including Utah, Arizona, Idaho and New Mexico have also had governors who were members of the Mormon church. Currently, there are 16 members of the 110th U.S. Congress who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or related faiths. (Rep. Leonard Boswell (D-Iowa) is a member of the Community of Christ faith, formerly known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or RLDS church. Members of this faith do not customarily refer to themselves as Mormons, and the author intends no slight to Rep. Boswell in so doing as a matter of convenience.)
Roll Call
Sorted by chamber, then in alphabetical order by last name:
Senators:
Robert Bennett (R-Utah) since 1993
Michael Crapo (R-Idaho) since 1999
Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) since 1977
Harry Reid (D-Nevada) since 1987
Gordon Smith (R-Oregon) since 1997
Representatives:
Robert Bishop (R-Utah) since 2003
Leonard Boswell (D-Iowa) since 1997
Christopher Cannon (R-Utah) since 1997
John Doolittle (R-California) since 1991
Jeff Flake (R-Arizona) since 2001
Dean Heller (R-Nevada) since 2007
Walter Herger (R-California) since 1987
James Matheson (D-Utah) since 2001
Howard McKeon (R-California) since 1993
Michael Simpson (R-Idaho) since 1999
Thomas Udall (D-New Mexico) since 1999
Do Mormon Politicians Vote as a Bloc?
Space limitations in this venue do not permit an exhaustive review and comparison of the voting records of the Senators and Representatives listed above. However, there is evidence (both empirical and rigorously academic) that the notion of bloc voting by the "Mormon contingent" in Congress is a myth.
Empirical Evidence of Political Independence
If these men thought and acted in lockstep and placed religious affiliation above all other concerns, one would expect them all to have enthusiastically supported Mitt Romney's presidential candidacy. Yet, only four of the sixteen men actually endorsed Romney. Some said it was simply too early in the race to endorse a specific candidate. Others, such as Sen. Gordon Smith, actively supported a different candidate (in Smith's case, John McCain.) There was certainly no united "Mormon front" behind Mitt Romney in Congress.
A Confirming Academic Study
The question of religious affiliation's effect on legislative voting has also been studied with academic rigor. A recent paper by Damon Cann of the Department of Political Science at the University of Georgia rigorously evaluated the extent to which religious identification influences the roll-call voting behavior of Mormon members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Cann noted that "the possibility for influence seems high in the Mormon case as Mormon citizens demonstrate high levels of support for pronounced church positions on ballot initiatives. However, a review of influences on legislative decision making shows that the theoretical rationale for religious influence on legislative roll-call voting is tenuous at best. Results showed that across a range of different issue areas, Mormon representatives are no more unified in their voting behavior than randomly selected sets of legislators."
A Dubious Honor?
Undoubtedly, many members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints take some pride in the fact that Mormons are slightly overrepresented in Congress compared to the general U.S. population. A current Gallup poll showing overall citizen approval of Congressional job performance at 21% (and sinking) might temper that enthusiasm a bit.
The author of this article is not an official representative of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but is a lifelong, practicing member thereof.
Other articles on Mormonism by this author:
Mormon Church Calls New Apostle
SOURCES:
gallup.com
infoplease.com
answers.yahoo.com
usatoday.com
papers.ssrn.com
reid.senate.gov
hatch.senate.gov
