Is It OK To Have A Mormon President?

[Kaj]

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But it might matter to American policy.

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Of course it does, but what is the conclusion?

Let's assume your president has an absolutely clean and flawless view on religion, whatever that is, but he is gay. What now?

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Being gay doesn't imply that the President holds seemingly irrational beliefs on who is eternally saved as righteous and who is eternally damned as wicked to be absolute, indisputable truth. A fervent belief in Mormonism does.

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Assume he is straight, but what if his dad owns an oil company and they might think it's cool for the US oil industry to build a pipeline through Afghanistan...?

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Being the son of an oil executive doesn't imply that the President holds seemingly irrational beliefs on who is eternally saved as righteous and who is eternally damned as wicked to be absolute, indisputable truth. A fervent belief in Mormonism does.

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Do you want a guy who doesn't belong to a specific group and doesn't have an opinion on anything, because this is the only way to avoid a conflict of interests?

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Belonging to a group or holding an opinion doesn't imply that the President holds seemingly irrational beliefs on who is eternally saved as righteous and who is eternally damned as wicked to be absolute, indisputable truth. A fervent belief in Mormonism does.

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What a boring guy would that be and could a person like that ever find enough courage to take a decision?

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Being not boring doesn't imply that the President holds seemingly irrational beliefs on who is eternally saved as righteous and who is eternally damned as wicked to be absolute, indisputable truth. A fervent belief in Mormonism does.

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Maybe the position of the american president is simply too powerful, so that his personal preferences gain too much importance.

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Having personal preferences doesn't imply that the President holds seemingly irrational beliefs on who is eternally saved as righteous and who is eternally damned as wicked to be absolute, indisputable truth. A fervent belief in Mormonism does.

{And you can replace "Mormonism" with any fundamentalist religious dogma.}

[Shandrax]

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Being the son of an oil executive doesn't imply that the President holds seemingly irrational beliefs on who is eternally saved as righteous and who is eternally damned as wicked to be absolute, indisputable truth. A fervent belief in Mormonism does.

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You seem to imply that the president being a crook is less dangerous for the state and the citizens than him being irrational.

While I don't think that this is a knockout-argument, you probably win this one by points.

[Kaj]

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Being the son of an oil executive doesn't imply that the President holds seemingly irrational beliefs on who is eternally saved as righteous and who is eternally damned as wicked to be absolute, indisputable truth. A fervent belief in Mormonism does.

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You seem to imply that the president being a crook is less dangerous for the state and the citizens than him being irrational.

While I don't think that this is a knockout-argument, you probably win this one by points.

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I didn't say that. There are other reasons why you wouldn't want this President, but let's stay on topic.

[tpir]

1. No one will ask him about these things in this manner because that is "disrespectful" or whatever.

2. I would rather here someone ask him about the Mormon's racist policies that were only overruled by a "revelation" within the past 30-ish years.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blacks_...ter-day_Saints

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blacks_...Saint_movement

[andyfox]

We had a president who apparently used astrology to make decisions. He was a very successful president. Not only did he do this but he was an ignoramus. Members of his own party were virtually unanimous in citing his ignorance of facts and policy when they met with him; he did not know that Grover Cleveland Alexander--who he once played in the movies--was a different person than Grover Cleveland.

The person who he replaced as president was, by all accounts, a brilliant guy--a gifted student, selected by Admiral Rickover to be a key person in the United States' fledgling nuclear submarine program. His presidency was a disaster.

A person can have silly ideas about certain things, or be uninformed about others, and still be capable and competent at their job. Likewise, a person can be brilliantly intelligent and be terrible at their job. Every president we've had believed that Jesus Christ was born of an immaculate conception and was resurrected because he was the son of God. Does this mean they were all destined to be poor presidents?

[andyfox]

Do you think that if you interviewed all the candidates on their religious views you could vote for any of them? I'm talking private interviews so they wouldn't have to pander.

[bluesbassman]

I agree that points #1 and #2 are weak necessary conditions for a Mormon (or any theist) to make an okay presidental candidate. (But far from sufficient, obviously.)

Along these lines I would also add a third condition: That the candidate has a basic understanding of and accepts the conclusions of mainstream science, including evolution.

If the candidate rejects well established scientific theories due to his (or her) religious dogma, that proves he or she is far too unintelligent or irrational (or mostly likely both) to be president.

[Lestat]

<font color="blue"> Every president we've had believed that Jesus Christ was born of an immaculate conception and was resurrected because he was the son of God. Does this mean they were all destined to be poor presidents? </font>

I'd be very surprised if Bill (or Hillary) Clinton believed this. I'd bet a lot of money they are both closet atheists. If Bill wasn't before, I'm sure Hillary has set him straight by now.

Nancy Reagan consulting with an astrologist doesn't mean her husband ever made a decision based on astrology. And it's also not clear that he was seriously religious.

I don't remember much about his presidency, but do you really think Richard Nixon believed Jesus was born of an immaculate conception? I highly doubt it.

You have to understand these people NEED to put on that dog and pony show about being a faithful believer in God. They could never be elected otherwise. With the exception of Carter (who was intelligent), and the two Bushes (the son, who's IQ couldn't compete with the price of a happy meal), I'm not sure any president in my lifetime was devout in his religious beliefs.

Regardless, it can't hurt having someone in office who wouldn't view a nuclear holocaust as the good sign of the 2nd coming of their savior. All else being equal of course.

[PLOlover]

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Perhaps it would be clearer if I said an apt analogous question would be if we should elect a president who believed that astrology was obviously correct.

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so i guess you disapproved of reagan, but my main point is what do you think about presidents/leaders going to bohemian grove for the pagan rituals including mock child sacrifice?

[PLOlover]

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Nancy Reagan consulting with an astrologist doesn't mean her husband ever made a decision based on astrology

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not true at all, many meetings, trips, and schedules were planned around astrology, although maybe you mean like major policy or something.