Mormon Stereotypes Research Paper

The Truth about Mormon Stereotypes

Mormons are of treacherous, lustful, males; degraded, gullible females; and neglected unmanageable children, or at least that’s what byu.edu says. This is just one of the many examples of a mormon stereotype. “Mormon” is one of the many nicknames given to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, this one being the most common. Heard of them, well, I wouldn’t be surprised if you said no. And if you did, you could call this “Mormon Stereotyping 101.”

A stereotype is a generalization of a certain group of people with a particular belief or way of living. Stereotypes are never a good thing, for they cause these groups to feel that they must follow the general standard set for them. For example, when deseretnews.com says, “Mormons are predominantly Republican, overwhelmingly white, well-educated, prosperous, and have larger-than-average families,” they’re defining what a “mormon” is and what it must be. Being a “mormon” doesn’t mean your Republican, white, or have larger-than-average family, it means that you belong to a certain religion and that’s it.

According to deseretnews.com, 59% of mormons also identify as Republicans. These mormons may have identified as Republican because of the pressure of the stereotype that “mormons” are predominantly Republican. Also, they said, that “mormon” households range from 3.7 to 4.2 persons. Many “mormons” may feel that, because they are “mormon”, they must have many kids to not stick out. Another stereotype that affect “mormons” is the stereotype that “mormons” are overwhelmingly white. A US study showed that 91% of “mormons” are white, while 3% black, 3% hispanic, and 3% other. These populations of ethnicities maybe because many non white “mormons” may feel that they don’t fit in. This may be the reason for the small portion of colored