Study: Romney's Mormon faith could help him in November

Mitt Romney.

/ CBS

(CBS News) The conventional wisdom is that Mitt Romney's Mormon faith has complicated his efforts to win the Republican presidential nomination and, eventually, the presidency.

But according to a new study by the nonpartisan Brookings Institution, Romney's religion may actually be more of an asset than a liability.

The former Massachusetts governor will be the nation's first major party nominee who is Mormon when he formally clinches the nomination this summer. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) is a relatively new religion, and one many Americans know little about.

A handful of incidents during the GOP nominating process prompted questions over whether anti-Mormon bigotry would cause Romney to lose votes. In addition, several polls have suggested a bias against Mormon candidates. A November 2011 study from the Pew Research Center survey showed that 25 percent of American voters would be less likely to support a Mormon candidate, a number that was even higher among white evangelical Christians.

According to a June 2011 Gallup poll, 22 percent of Americans said they would not vote for a nominee who was Mormon. The Gallup poll showed that the bias was much stronger against atheists and gays, however: 49 percent of Americans said they would not vote for an atheist and 32 percent of Americans said they would not vote for a gay nominee.

In examining the impact of Romney's religion, Michael Henderson and Matthew Chingos, the authors of the Brookings study, provided voters with varying levels of information about Mormonism and then measured the impact of that information on their political opinions. Each respondent was asked to answer questions about Romney after reviewing biographical details about him, some of which offered detailed information about the Mormon faith, some of which offered less information, and some of which did not address his religion.

They found there was little evidence that any of the information provided about Romney's religion had "more than a trivial effect" on his presidential prospects.

"Respondents in general - and white evangelicals in particular - were just as likely to support Romney regardless of what they were told about Romney's religion," the study reports. "In short, white evangelical voters do not abandon Romney even when differences between their beliefs and his are emphasized. Thus it appears that the concerns among campaign watchers about Romney's religion are misplaced."

Among white evangelicals, 48 percent of those who were giving prompts either identifying Romney as Mormon or emphasizing Mormon-Christian differences expressed support for the candidate. Among those who were given no information about Romney's religion, 49 percent supported him. Forty-four percent of white evangelicals who were given prompts emphasizing Mormon-Christian similarities supported him.

Among all conservatives, identifying Romney as a Mormon actually gave him a boost. Fifty-four percent of conservatives who were not given any information about Romney's religion said they supported him. Of those who received prompts in which he was identified as Mormon, 73 percent did.

Sixty-seven percent of those who received information emphasizing Mormon-Christian differences backed Romney, as did 68 percent of those given prompts emphasizing Mormon-Christian similarities.

Romney has not talked at length about his religion to the American people. But according to Mormon scholar Dave Ulrich, Romney could communicate a lot to voters by speaking about his faith.

"Even after numerous political victories, years of public scrutiny and gigabytes of press, Republican presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney remains an enigma to many," Ulrich writes in a Washington Post series exploring Romney's relationship with faith. "Is he a brilliant businessman or a ruthless capitalist? Is he driven by family values or by personal ambition? Is he a political moderate or a right-wing conservative? Just what kind of leader is he likely to be?"

"But fully unraveling Romney's leadership identity requires delving more deeply into how he demonstrated leadership in his church," Ulrich argues.

[janicefeathermoon]

I am an active member of the LDS (Mormon) Church. I was diagnosed with stage thee lymphoma three months ago. I am using a fake name to post this information because I am afraid of the repercussions that would come to my family if the LDS church knew I was posting this information. Please, I urge you to get this information out to your pastors and church leaders. My last wish in life is to uproot the lies that the Mormon church leadership has been telling the world over the last 200 years. I am expected to live for only three months longer, and I'm trying to do my best to reverse the damage that the teachings of the LDS church have caused; I know that Jesus will not have much mercy on me for being a dishonest academic, but I can only hope that I save one or two humans souls with this information before I God to receive my punishment. The following information surfaced within the circle of LDS scholarship. The LDS church would have never revealed this information, so I am taking it upon myself to undermine the LDS sect as much as possible before I die.

Three days ago, a Mormon scholar finally leaked the name of the document that Joseph Smith used to formulate Mormon doctrines and beliefs. This document is called the "Hermes Trismegistus" and would have been available in German during the 1830s and 1840s in America. This book is an OCCULT text that deals with the pagan God Hermes. This book was used by the Freemason movement, gnostic and occult Christian types, and mystical practitioners including the satanist Allister Crowley. For those familiar with the Mormon's doctrines of the preexistence, the Adam-God theory of Brigham Young, the Jesus being Brothers with Satan, the Council of the Gods, the three degrees of the afterlife, and basically anything else that Mormons believe that diverges from mainstream historical Christianity. This book was considered to be the "knowledge of the gods" according to the Greeks in 600-560 BC. They claimed that this book was passed down from ancient Egyptians before Noah's flood and was written by the Pagan practitioner "Heremes" who lived, supposedly, during the time of Enoch. This text also reveals many of the "mysteries" and "secrets" of the Mormon's rituals, symbols, and covenants that occur within Mormon temples. If you would like to read this book here is the links:

HERMES TRISMEGISTUS
http://www.sacred-texts.com/egy/woe/woe07.htm

THE "BOOK OF THE DEAD"
http://www.sacred-texts.com/egy/woe/woe06.htm

EGYPTIAN MAGIC
http://www.sacred-texts.com/egy/woe/woe08.htm

THE VISION OF HERMES
http://www.sacred-texts.com/egy/woe/woe09.htm

THE STORY OF THE BOOK OF THOTH
http://www.sacred-texts.com/egy/woe/woe10.htm

[swanman823]

Here's the deal, neither camp is going to touch religion, its like "MAD--mutually assured destruction" of the Soviet days. I'm from Utah originally and it's true that people don't know most of the bizarre tenants of Mormonism. However I'll take a Mormon over someone whose spiritual mentor was Jeremiah Wright. Obama sat in the pews for 20 years, was married by and had his children baptized by this disgusting Anti-American, Socialist, hateful excuse for a preacher. Then Big O, threw him under the bus in a heartbeat and denied that he ever heard all the hate Wright was spewing....right.
I'll enthusiastically vote against Obama and take a businessman who knows something about the real world. Unlike Obama who has never ran so much as a lemonade stand, never had to meet a payroll and has only been a community organizer and academic.

[calif7]

Joseph Smith was a con artist (it kind of fits Romney too) Check out any biography of Smith.

[imright12]

The Mormon cult is a repulsive, immoral, disgusting, bigoted organization that spreads hate against others. And Mormon beliefs are laughable. And if they can spend tens of millions of dollars on hate campaigns, why can't they pay taxes? Why are taxpayers subsidizing government services to this pathetic, faux "religion?" The sooner this cult is brought down, the better off the country will be.

[akwananta]

Help him??? You've got to be kidding. Garments? Polygamy? The Angel Moroni? Sorry to make broad generalizations, but their penchant for surveillance tactics and weaponry? Women only gaining access to heaven via their husbands? Their unbearably superior attitude toward everything that ISN'T Mormon which they use as rationale for breaking rules they believe simply don't apply to them? This is what happens when you avoid caffeine.

[dreamymiss100]

Fortunately, we have other choices than Romney and Obama.....Gary Johnson, for instance.

[yankskeptic]

Isn't Romney's Mormon religion is just as relevant as Obama's Black Liberation Theology and his spiritual advisor Reverend Wright???

But, CBS is still deciding how to report mockingly on Romney's religion, but ignore Obama's.

[JustSayIt]

I don't think that Mitt being Mormon is going to hurt him as much as him being a tool.

[MurdochSucks]

Ha ha ha, this reminds me of a segment Jon Stewart did the other night (http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CFUQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.alternet.org%2Fnewsandviews%2Farticle%2F911668%2Fjon_stewart%253A_romney_won't_pursue_racist_policies_because_he's_a_mormon_--_he'll_do_so_because_he's_a_republican%2F&ei=-261T_aoBKegiALTpbTHAg&usg=AFQjCNGEgtkfRt-adUmljI0h_stBw4k4JQ&sig2=fLpiNAt-nBBuyEQQhQWHnQ)

He sums it up with, "Romney won't pursue racist policies because he's a Mormon... He'll do those things because he's a REPUBLICAN!"

What a riot!

[twodm]

You seem to know a lot about the Mormons. Why do they keep baptizing holocaust Jews like Anne Frank and other dead people, including Mitt's own atheist Father in law? Is lack of respect for other people's beliefs part of Mormon culture?

[BOJOKER-Obama_]

So Americans prefer Mormons over gays and atheists or even worse,
"Gay Atheists".
Tell us something new CBS.
Who doesn't, except other Godless sexually immoral people whether straight or homosexual.

Mormons are a strange cult but they aren't perverting and corrupting our society into a sick and weird cesspool or spreading contagious and potentially deadly STDS.

[twodm]

You seem to know a lot about the Mormons. Why do they keep baptizing holocaust Jews like Anne Frank and other dead people, including Mitt's own atheist Father in law? Is lack of respect for other people's beliefs part of Mormon culture?

[The-Riddler]

Romney should win, no matter what. The Obama Team is becoming increasingly desperate and it's very noticeable in the moves they have made recently. Biden brings up Bain Capital, yet when Bain tanked, where was Romney? In Salt Lake City, helping organize the 2002 Winter Olympics. Biden screwed up again, putting Obama on the spot after saying that he (Biden) supported gay marriage. 67% of people feel he said he was pro-gay for "political reasons", and now 26% said they won't vote for him now, twice as much as the 13% who said they would because of this subject. If Romney doesn't win, I'll be surprised.

[The-Riddler]

*When Obama said he was pro-gay, 67% of people feel he said he was pro-gay for "political reasons", and now 26% said they won't vote for him now, twice as much as the 13% who said they would because of this subject.