A recent NPR piece highlighted the conundrum that evangelicals might face in 2012. What if Mitt Romney is the Republican nominee? Romney’s faith poses a problem, of course, for evangelicals who, according to Patrick Mason of Claremont University, believe Mormons are contributing to the “erosion” of American society and are “challenging the authority of traditional Christianity.” Yet when it comes to political battles, evangelicals have been known to align themselves with questionable company if it might mean winning on larger issues. We’ve seen more evangelical-Catholic agreement on social/moral issues and many evangelicals were willing to get in bed with McCain in ‘08 because he shared conservatives’ social convictions – even though Obama was more open about his Christian faith. So while Mormonism may be viewed as a radical threat to historic Christian orthodoxy, Romney may represent the best chance evangelicals have to oust the current administration. You can find the piece here. In a related piece, NPR's Guy Raz interviewed Quin Monson, associate political science professor at Brigham Young University, about the relationship between Mormons and the GOP. Find this story here.
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