Study portrays Mormons as outsiders in native land

WASHINGTON (RNS) —In some ways, Mormonism is the ultimate American religion. Born in America, it was unveiled by an American prophet who believed the U.S. Constitution was divinely inspired and the Garden of Eden bloomed in Independence, Mo.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has grown from six members gathered around a charismatic New Yorker named Joseph Smith in 1830 to nearly 6 million believers in the United States alone. Richard Ostling, a religion expert and co-author of the book Mormon America, calls it "the most successful faith ever born on American soil."

But even as a devout Mormon leads the GOP field for the presidential nomination and the award-winning—if irreverent—musical Book of Mormon plays to overflow crowds on Broadway, a new survey portrays Mormons as strangers in their own land.

The vast majority of Mormons believe Americans do not embrace Mormonism as part of mainstream society, and most say Americans know little about their religion. More than half worry about discrimination, according to a survey by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

"Clearly, this is a population that sees itself as outsiders looking in," said Gregory Smith, a senior researcher at the Pew Forum.

The survey—called the first of its kind conducted by a non-Mormon or-ganization—interviewed 1,000 American Mormons by telephone and has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

"I wish the public could see us for our day-to-day doctrines, devotions and practices, which are just like other devout religions," said George Robinson, 63, a cardiovascular surgeon and local LDS leader in Gadsden, Ala.

"Instead, the public either hears pejoratives about us or focuses on differences, many of which are rarely brought up as part of our religion."

Still, Robinson and many other Mormons remain upbeat, saying American attitudes toward their faith are changing for the better.

Nearly nine in 10 Mormons say they are happy with their lives and judge their communities as excellent or good places to live. More than half say the country is ready for a Mormon president.

But most Mormons also say popular entertainment damages their public image. In recent years, a number of TV shows, such as HBO's Big Love and TLC's Sister Wives have featured polygamous families who belong to offshoots of Mormonism. According to the Pew survey, 86 percent of Mormons believe polygamy, which the LDS Church banned in 1890, is morally wrong.

Perceptions of anti-Mormon animus also may be fed by the presidential candidacy of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, despite his front-runner status.

While three in four Mormon voters identify as Republican or lean conservative, less than 40 percent believe the GOP is friendly toward Mormons, the Pew survey found.

The hostility directed at Romney's Mormonism by some evangelicals—a key GOP constituency—reinforces that perception, Smith said.

Most evangelicals do not believe Mormonism falls within the Christian fold, according to a separate Pew poll, and some have been outspoken about opposing Romney's candidacy on those grounds.

Half of Mormons, according to the Pew survey, pick up an unfriendly vibe from evangelicals.

"It's frustrating that some people are trying to build a hedge of deceit around the church so that people won't decide to take a look for themselves and find out what our church is all about," Robinson said.

Most Mormons do not deny the differences between their faith and mainstream Christianity, the survey found.

While 97 percent of Mormons believe their faith to be a Christian religion, less than half say it is similar to Catholicism or evangelical Protestantism.

Still, Mormons remain firm in their religious commitments, even to practices and beliefs that set them apart from mainstream Christianity.

For example, 94 percent believe the president of the LDS Church is a prophet of God and ancient prophets wrote the Book of Mormon.

Nearly the same percentage believes families can be eternally bound in temple ceremonies, and that God the Father and Jesus are separate beings—not unified in a Trinity with the Holy Spirit.

Mormons are among the most committed religious groups in America, according to the Pew survey.

More than 8 in 10 say they pray daily; three-quarters attend weekly religious services; and 82 percent say religion is very important in their lives. Only Jehovah's Witnesses approach Mormons' religiosity, Smith said.