Mormonism and American Politics

Erscheinungsjahr 2016
ISBN: 978-0-231-16598-3
Verlag: Columbia University Press

Buch, Englisch, Band 18, 264 Seiten, Format (B × H): 161 mm x 234 mm, Gewicht: 526 g

Reihe: Religion, Culture, and Public Life

When Joseph Smith ran for president as a radical protest candidate in 1844, Mormons were a deeply distrusted group in American society, and their efforts to enter public life were met with derision. When Mitt Romney ran for president as a Republican in 2008 and 2012, the public had come to regard Mormons as consummate Americans: patriotic, family-oriented, and conservative. How did this shift occur?

In this collection, prominent scholars of Mormonism, including Claudia L. Bushman, Richard Lyman Bushman, Jan Shipps, and Philip L. Barlow, follow the religion's quest for legitmacy in the United States and its intersection with American politics. From Brigham Young's skirmishes with the federal government over polygamy to the Mormon involvement in California's Proposition 8, contributors combine sociology, political science, race and gender studies, and popular culture to track Mormonism's rapid integration into American life. The book takes a broad view of the religion's history, considering its treatment of women and African Americans and its portrayal in popular culture and the media. With essays from both Mormon and non-Mormon scholars, this anthology tells a big-picture story of a small sect that became a major player in American politics.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Balmer, Randall

Riess, Jana

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Christentum/Christliche Theologie Allgemein Christentum und Gesellschaft, Kirche und Politik
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Religion & Politik, Religionsfreiheit
• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Christliche Kirchen, Konfessionen, Denominationen Andere und Moderne Christliche Glaubensgemeinschaften
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Kultur Politik & Religion, Religionsfreiheit

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of IllustrationsIntroduction Randall Balmer and Jana RiessPart I: Origins and Tensions1. Joseph Smith's Presidential Ambitions

2. Unpopular Sovereignty: Brigham Young and the U.S. Government, 1847-1877

3. Polygamy in the Nation's Capitol: Protestant Women and the 1899 Campaign Against B. H. Roberts

4. Eternal Progression: Mormonism and American Progressivism

Part II: Shifting Alliances5. Ezra Taft Benson and the Conservative Turn of "Those Amazing Mormons"

6. Testimony and Theology: The Mormon Struggle with America's Civil Religion

7. Chosen Land, Chosen People: Religious and American Exceptionalism Among the Mormons

8. Like Father, Unlike Son: The Governors Romney, the Kennedy Paradigm, and the Mormon Question

Part III: Into the Twenty-first Century9. A Politically Peculiar People: How Mormons Moved into and Then out of the Political Mainstream

10. "Twice-told Tale": Telling Two Histories of Mormon-Black Relations During the 2012 Presidential Election

11. Mormon Women Talk Politics

12. On the "Underground": What the Mormon "Yes on 8" Campaign Reveals About the Future of Mormons in American Political Life

"13. Mitt, Mormonism, and the Media: An Unfamiliar Faith Takes the Stage in the 2012 U.S. Presidential Election"

List of ContributorsIndex

Über Autor(innen)

Randall Balmer is chair of the religion department and Dartmouth Professor in the Arts & Sciences at Dartmouth College. An award-winning historian, he is the author of more than a dozen books, including God in the White House: How Faith Shaped the Presidency from John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush and Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Journey into the Evangelical Subculture in America, which was made into an award-winning documentary for PBS.

Jana Riess is the author, coauthor, or editor of many books, including Flunking Sainthood, American Pilgrimage, and Mormonism for Dummies. She has taught at Barnard College and Miami University in Ohio and writes for Religion News Service.