Brain Dead in Utah

We often talk about the dangers of the Evangelical Christian Right but does the real theological danger really lie elsewhere? I think the answer may be yes and as the New York Times pointed out yesterday it is centered in Utah (and southern Idaho). Yes I'm talking about the Mormons. As anyone who reads the rants here knows I am one of those horrible left wing pagans who considers religion, Christian, Jewish or Islamic, to be irrational. Now the Mormons have taken Christianity and added a new layer of irrationality in the form of a modern day prophet. There are only three states where George W. Bush has a positive approval rating, Utah, Idaho and Wyoming. Utah is primarily Mormon and Idaho is heavily influenced by the Mormon Church. While many Evangelical Christians have turned on George W. Bush, negative approval ratings in the so called Bible Belt, the Mormons have stuck with him. Is this an indication of an inability to think rationally? This from the Times article:

"When I watch him, I see a man with his heart in the right place," said Delia Randall, a 22-year-old mother from Provo, the hub of a county that gave Senator John Kerry just 11 percent of the presidential vote in 2004. "I like George Bush because he is God fearing, and that's how a lot of people in this area feel."

And this:

"I'm against the war in Iraq — and what happened with Hurricane Katrina, well, it was a failure by everybody," said Ron Craft, a sales manager in Provo who said he was a devout Mormon and a strong conservative who considered himself independent politically. "I tend to judge a person by their character. And President Bush reminds me of President Reagan. He's a man of principle."

So Bush is a man of principal even when you disagree with nearly everything he does. That certainly doesn't sound like rational thought to me.

While the Evangelical Christians have entered the political arena by breaking down the front door the Mormons have been sneaking in the backdoor. Here in Oregon out own junior Senator, Gordon Smith, comes off as a moderate but a quick look at his voting record shows he supports the extreme right views most of the time. This backdoor approach makes the Mormons significantly more dangerous than the Robertson/Fallwell/Dobson evangelicals.