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If Romney was a member of the KKK, would Salon be saying "Romney should be judged by his stance on the issues, not whatever personal and private organizations or religions he believes in"? Though the analogy may be extreme, it has relevance. A person's religion is not some sort of inalienable trait, like race, gender, or sexual identity. It is a belief. Romney may have been born into Mormonism, but he continues to believe in the religion, and has thus chosen it for himself. The tenets of that religion are ABSOLUTELY fair game when a person says they believe in them. If Romney believes in Mormonism, and if Mormonism believes in X, does Romney believe in X? This is a fair question. I think that many religions have a great deal of ugly history and discrimination behind them, and Mormonism is no different. However, Mormonism IS unique because its history is so recent, and some of its uglier practices occurred while Romney was a practicing Mormon.
Here are some questions that the issue of Mormonism raises:
1. The Mormon bible says that Black people are Black because they are decedents of Cain. Mormons refused to admit Blacks into the church until 1978. Mitt Romney was a Mormon at this time. Why did he not renounce this racism?
2. Mormons believe that only men can become gods in their own heaven and that women cannot get into heaven without the men calling their secret name. Sure, its kooky, but more importantly its sexist. Does Romney believe in this sexist view of the world and god?
3. Mormons have a history of polygamy, and some sects still practice it in Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Arizona, where numerous criminal cases have been filed for child rape, where church elders force children to marry much older men. What has Romney done to fight this practice?
