Anti-Mormonism in the 2008 Primaries? December 6, 2007

Favorite:

Complete video at: http://fora.tv/2007/11/10/Mitt_Mormonism_and_the_Media

Political author and commentator Amy Sullivan discusses anti-Mormon sentiment Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney may face during the 2008 primary elections.

-----

"Mormonism and American Politics: Mitt, Mormonism, and the Media."

Mitt Romney's run for the White House raises perennial questions about the place of religion in the public square and offers scholars an interesting occasion to reconsider the relationship between religion and American politics. The media has made much of Romneys religion and so have some sectors of the American public. What can we learn from public attitudes about Mormonism? Are the religious beliefs of a political candidate relevant to serving in office, and if so, how? Are there political implications to Mormonism? Do the careers of other Mormon politicians shed any light on this question? In what ways is Mormonism politically comparable to other religious groups? - Center for the Study of Religion, Princeton University

Amy Sullivan is the nation editor for TIME magazine, where she directs political coverage and the magazine's polling operation. Her book on Democrats and religion, "The Party Faithful," will be published in February 2008 by Scribner. Sullivan's work has appeared in publications including the Los Angeles Times, The New Republic, The New York Times, and The Washington Post, and was included in The Best Political Writing 2006. She is a frequent guest on radio and television talk shows.

Previously, Sullivan served as editor of The Washington Monthly, and as editorial director of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. She holds degrees from the University of Michigan and Harvard Divinity School.