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Mormonism is one of the few homegrown religions in the United
States, one that emerged out of the religious fervor of the early
nineteenth century. Yet, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints have struggled for status and recognition. In
this book, W. Paul Reeve explores the ways in which nineteenth
century Protestant white America made outsiders out of an inside
religious group. Much of what has been written on Mormon otherness
centers upon economic, cultural, doctrinal, marital, and political
differences that set Mormons apart from mainstream America. Reeve
instead looks at how Protestants racialized Mormons, using physical
differences in order to define Mormons as non-White to help justify
their expulsion from Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois. He analyzes and
contextualizes the rhetoric on Mormons as a race with period
discussions of the Native American, African American, Oriental,
Turk/Islam, and European immigrant races. He also examines how
Mormon male, female, and child bodies were characterized in these
racialized debates. For instance, while Mormons argued that
polygamy was ordained by God, and so created angelic, celestial,
and elevated offspring, their opponents suggested that the children
were degenerate and deformed. The Protestant white majority was
convinced that Mormonism represented a racial-not merely
religious-departure from the mainstream and spent considerable
effort attempting to deny Mormon whiteness. Being white brought
access to political, social, and economic power, all aspects of
citizenship in which outsiders sought to limit or prevent Mormon
participation. At least a part of those efforts came through
persistent attacks on the collective Mormon body, ways in which
outsiders suggested that Mormons were physically different,
racially more similar to marginalized groups than they were white.
Medical doctors went so far as to suggest that Mormon polygamy was
spawning a new race. Mormons responded with aspirations toward
whiteness. It was a back and forth struggle between what outsiders
imagined and what Mormons believed. Mormons ultimately emerged
triumphant, but not unscathed. Mormon leaders moved away from
universalistic ideals toward segregated priesthood and temples,
policies firmly in place by the early twentieth century. So
successful were Mormons at claiming whiteness for themselves that
by the time Mormon Mitt Romney sought the White House in 2012, he
was labeled "the whitest white man to run for office in recent
memory." Ending with reflections on ongoing views of the Mormon
body, this groundbreaking book brings together literatures on
religion, whiteness studies, and nineteenth century racial history
with the history of politics and migration.
The Protestant white majority in the nineteenth century was
convinced that Mormonism represented a racial-not merely
religious-departure from the mainstream and they spent considerable
effort attempting to deny Mormon whiteness. Being white equalled
access to political, social, and economic power, all aspects of
citizenship in which outsiders sought to limit or prevent Mormon
participation. At least a part of those efforts came through
persistent attacks on the collective Mormon body, ways in which
outsiders suggested that Mormons were physically different,
racially more similar to marginalized groups than they were white.
Medical doctors went so far as to suggest that Mormon polygamy was
spawning a new race. Mormons responded with aspirations toward
whiteness. It was a back and forth struggle between what outsiders
imagined and what Mormons believed. Mormons ultimately emerged
triumphant, but not unscathed. At least a portion of the cost of
their struggle came at the expense of their own black converts.
Mormon leaders moved away from universalistic ideals toward
segregated priesthood and temples, policies firmly in place by the
early twentieth century. So successful were they at claiming
whiteness for themselves, that by the time Mormon Mitt Romney
sought the White House in 2012, he was labelled "the whitest white
man to run for office in recent memory. " Mormons once again found
themselves on the wrong side of white.
Covering its historic development, important individuals, and
central ideas and issues, this encyclopedia offers broad historical
coverage of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Mormonism: A Historical Encyclopedia helps readers explore a church
that has gone from being an object of ridicule and sometimes
violent persecution to a worldwide religion, counting prominent
businesspeople and political leaders among its members (including
former Massachusetts governor and recent presidential candidate
Mitt Romney). The encyclopedia begins with an overview of The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—six essays cover the
church's history from Joseph Smith's first vision in 1820 to its
current global status. This provides a context for subsequent
sections of alphabetically organized entries on key events and key
figures in Mormon history. A final section looks at important
issues such as the church's organization and government, its
teachings on family, Mormonism and blacks, Mormonism and women, and
Mormonism and Native Americans. Together, these essays and entries,
along with revealing primary sources, portray the Mormon experience
like no other available reference work.
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