What Changed?

Recently I saw an interview with Randall Balmer, a college professor and Episcopal minister. He has also written on religion in America recently publishing "God in the White House," which examines the faith of US presidents from 1960 to the present. However, Balmer admits it was not until the 1970s that religion was really introduced into presidential politics this time to stay.

Granted in 1960 JFK had to convince the American public that his Catholicism would not play a factor in his political decision making but the issue went dormant for over a decade. "To cite one example of this disregard for candidates' religion, the leading contender for the Republican nomination in 1968 was the governor of Michigan, George Romney, a Mormon. His religion simply did not enter into the political calculus..."

"By 2004, Americans had come to expect that candidates for the highest office in the land would open their religious beliefs to the scrutiny of voters...Jimmy Carter's declaration in 1976 that he was a "born again" Christian had simultaneously energized evangelicals and sent every journalist in New York to his Rolodex to figure out what in the world he meant. By 2004, the language of "born again" had become a commonplace on the presidential campaign trail."


What changed? Why did Jefferson question the divinity of Christ, Lincoln doubt life after death but then George W. claim his favorite philosopher was Jesus? Weren't Americans more superstitious back then and not now? This reminded me of a survey I stumbled across several months ago. BYU students were asked several questions in 1935 then again in 1973. Check it out...

BYU Student Belief	1935	1973
1. Obedience to authority comes above one’s own personal preference.	38%	88%
2. Literal interpretation of scripture.	38%	88%
3. Believe everyone has a personal devil.	38%	95%
4. The creation involved some sort of evolution.	81%	36%
5. The creation took millions of years.	95%	5%
6. Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God.	88%	99%
7. Church leaders receive revelation today.	76%	99%
8. The LDS Church is more divine than other faiths.	81%	98%
9. God answers prayers through divine intervention.	75%	95%
10. Rejected the use of birth control.	11%	42%
11. Strict observation of the Sabbath Day.	14%	54%

From what I understand shortly after the 1935 interview a strict bishop and stake president interview was required in order to be admitted to BYU but why else would there be such a drastic change? In 1935 America was neck deep in the Great Depression, is there a possibility many Mormons were questioning their faith? Or have we simply become complacent, following blindly without truly questioning the fine points of our religion? I'm betting on the latter but what do you think?