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Perry Endorser: Mormonism is a “Cult” (Updated)

By Sarah Posner

…k Perry was introduced by the Rev. Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Church Dallas, who lauded him as “a candidate who is a proven leader, a true conservative, and a committed follower of Christ.” After Perry’s speech, Jeffress spoke with a group of reporters, who questioned him about previous statements he’d made about Mormonism. Jeffess stated, unequivocally, that he believes, as does the Southern Baptist Convention, that Mormonism is a “cult.” H…

Romney’s Mild Rebuke to Bryan Fischer, and Fischer’s Ugly Speech

By Sarah Posner

After radio host Bill Bennett rebuked Dallas megachurch pastor Robert Jeffress for his comments about Mormonism, Mitt Romney took the stage at the Values Voters Summit, and said, “How about that Bill Bennett?”, adding “he hit it out of the park”—the same words Rick Perry had used yesterday to describe Jeffress’ introduction of him. (Romney himself was introduced by the American Center for Law and Justice’s Jay Sekulow, whose organization is co-sp…

Why Do Southerners Call Mormonism a Cult?

By Joanna Brooks

…es Voter Summit, Robert Jeffress, Senior Pastor at First Baptist Church of Dallas, introduced Rick Perry as a “genuine follower of Jesus Christ” and later characterized Mormonism as a “cult” to reporters. Help us understand the history behind anti-Mormon sentiment in the American South. PM: Mormon missionaries were proselytizing in the American South from before the Civil War, and wherever Mormonism went, anti-Mormonism followed. Some of it was ba…

Mormon-Baiting Pastor’s New Fame Should Help Him Sell His New Book

By Joanna Brooks

When Pastor Robert Jeffress of Dallas’ First Baptist Church stormed into the Values Voter Summit on October 7 and announced to a scrum of reporters that Mormonism was a “cult” and that voting for Mitt Romney meant giving “credibility to a cult,” was he: A. On a mission from God to defeat an unorthodox strand of Christianity? B. On a mission from Rick Perry to defeat Mitt Romney? or C. On a mission to pump up his own media profile in advance of th…

Richard Land Steps Down, But Not Out of the Culture Wars

By Aaron Weaver

…the Lone Star state to join the faculty of the Criswell Bible Institute in Dallas, turning down a more lucrative offer to from Jerry Falwell to teach at Liberty College. In 1987, he took a leave of absence from his Criswell post to work as an aide to Governor Bill Clements, the first Republican governor of Texas since Reconstruction. Meanwhile, Land’s friends Paige Patterson and Paul Pressler were executing a plan to take over the Southern…

Making Fun of Mormonism

By Max Mueller

…epeated chanting of “underwear, planets, tablets,” a glance at recent poll numbers about Mormon electability suggests that rhetoric does in fact hurt. Following on Robert Jeffress’ diatribe at the Values Voters Summit, the recent Pew Forum survey found that the number one word Americans associate with Mormonism is “cult.” The caricaturing of Mormon weirdness, even by public thinkers who should know better, does have consequences. Yet Mormon schola…

Doonesbury Cartoons Cause Controversy, But for Wrong Reasons

By Sarah Posner

…adds: “By the authority invested in me by the GOP base, I thee rape.” The Dallas Morning News has decided to run this week’s strip because Trudeau’s “take on the Texas law is ‘fair comment.’” The refusal by some papers to run the strip out of fear of offending conservatives is itself worthy of satire. Setting all that aside, though, and turning to a more serious issue, Trudeau’s comparison of the transvaginal probe to rape repeats a troublesome…

South Carolina Fight Club

By Sarah Posner

…and I think America needs that right now.” As Wayne Slater puts it in the Dallas Morning News, the gospel in Gingrich land is “Our mano can beat up your mano.” The religious right hasn’t coalesced comfortably around a presidential candidate since George W. Bush. That’s two election cycles now in which there’s been a mad scramble to endorse anoint a suitable candidate. The majority, but certainly not all, of the religious right leaders endorsed Sa…

Is Romney Gaining Ground among White Evangelical Voters?

By Joanna Brooks

…a convention of evangelical social conservatives endorsed Rick Santorum in Dallas on January 17. And the strength of the anti-Mormonism narrative is likely to fade as the race heads out west into regions where more voters are able to moderate their judgments of Mormonism with actual contact with LDS people. In Nevada, it is estimated that 20–25% of GOP voters are LDS. If Romney stays on course, the real loser in this primary contest may be Mormons…