# More than 50% of Americans polled don't know Romney's religion **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 26, 2011, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429 "2011-07-26T21:14:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429/41 "2011-07-27T19:35:24Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > He wasn’t a candidate for president at the time I voted. Sorry, I’m still finding this inexplicable. He spent a year running for president and was one of the major Republican candidates, and he’s already in the race again this year and is one of the major candidates again. He’s even got a ridiculous, memorable name. ---
**Author:** ![raspberry\_hunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@raspberry\_hunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raspberry_hunter)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429/42 "2011-07-27T19:37:46Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > I’ll raise you an I haven’t heard of the guy. It’s not a presidential election year so I don’t follow this shit and I don’t care. > [@Marley23](#): > > What was your excuse in 2008? Romney wasn’t one of the people we were voting for in 2008 unless **Harmonius Discord** was voting in the Republican primary, so I don’t see why HD should have heard of him in 2008 either. It’s more than a year away from the presidential election, people. I think it’s a rational ignorance thing – a lot of people have better things to do than obsess about candidates and their potential religions more than a year from the actual election. Plus which, I guarantee you at least 50% of Americans, and probably at least 50% of Dopers for that matter, vote for a particular party’s candidate regardless of what s/he says/does/believes, in which case the details _really_ don’t matter. (I keep up with the candidates, but often I wish I didn’t. It just makes me angry and upset most of the time.) ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429/43 "2011-07-27T19:42:14Z")
> [@PlanetCharlie](#): > > If 10% thought he was Protestant or Catholic, while another 50% doesn’t know, that means a grand total of 60% don’t know what religion he is! Youch. I live in an area of California with a lot of mormons though, perhaps in the deep south/midwest/etc they aren’t as prevalent? Still… very scary. Arguably, Mormons ARE a form of Protestant Christian. Seriously, people don’t know that? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429/44 "2011-07-27T19:43:23Z")
> [@raspberry\_hunter](#): > > Romney wasn’t one of the people we were voting for in 2008 unless **Harmonius Discord** was voting in the Republican primary, so I don’t see why HD should have heard of him in 2008 either. I’m not registered with either party and I’ve still _heard_ of the candidates. We’re not talking about spending hours poring over poll data to figure out how the ambidextrous libertarian Wyoming soccer fans are going to vote. We’re just talking about having heard of the major candidates. You can pick that up from a plethora of websites and TV shows (news or comedy), and since Romney has been through the whole thing twice, that’s two prolonged periods where his name was in the news just about every day. ---
**Author:** ![raspberry\_hunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@raspberry\_hunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raspberry_hunter)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429/45 "2011-07-27T19:58:26Z")
Well, sure. I’m registered Democrat and I’ve still heard of all the Republican candidates. As I get older I have become more of a news junkie – I read the newspaper and a bunch of news-ish blogs every day. But as I get older I also kind of understand why one might not want to do so, and why it might even be the more rational approach. And since I don’t watch TV, and most of the non-political websites I frequent are either completely unrelated or else easy to ignore in terms of politics (e.g., I rarely go into Great Debates on the SMDB), I can see how it could happen. And in particular, as for 2008, I remember the battle between Hillary and Obama as sucking up all the drama and media air of the election primaries. I don’t think anyone really heard much about Romney or Huckabee or even McCain in contrast, until McCain was the actual Republican candidate. (I bet you HD has heard of Hillary, for the same reason, although it’s not really a fair comparison since presumably most people have heard of her as First Lady.) And this year Romney hasn’t been in the news all that much, yet. I mean, sure, a lot in comparison to how much he was in the news last year, but not like they’re continually running first-page articles on him or anything. ---
**Author:** ![raspberry\_hunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@raspberry\_hunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raspberry_hunter)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429/46 "2011-07-27T20:04:59Z")
> [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > From the Mormons point of view, they are the only Christians and the rest of Christianity ran off the rails during the 1st century AD Missed this before. As a practicing Mormon, I don’t think this is quite correct. Mormons would argue that they are the only _correct_ Christians… but I’ve heard similar sentiments from Catholics, Lutherans, and Baptists, so I don’t know that this is really a distinguishing feature. Mormons believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and all that, so in that sense are Christians, but they do not believe in or recite the Nicene Creed or the Apostles’ Creed, which is how some churches define Christianity (most Christian churches in my experience – feel free to correct me if I am wrong – would say that they believe the Apostles’ Creed even if they do not recite it every week)… so in that sense would not be counted as Christian. It depends a bit whom you ask, I suppose. (And I don’t think the Book of Mormon really has much bearing on it, or should not, any more than whether you believe acupuncture works should have a whole lot of bearing on whether a third party thinks you are Christian.) ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429/47 "2011-07-27T20:09:13Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I’m not registered with either party and I’ve still _heard_ of the candidates. We’re not talking about spending hours poring over poll data to figure out how the ambidextrous libertarian Wyoming soccer fans are going to vote. We’re just talking about having heard of the major candidates. You can pick that up from a plethora of websites and TV shows (news or comedy), and since Romney has been through the whole thing twice, that’s two prolonged periods where his name was in the news just about every day. You watch news and television I don’t. I know some lady was just found innocent of murdering her kids, but I don’t know her name or what she looks like. I only caught that much walking through rooms with televisions running. Two months before the election is when I listen to candidates. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429/48 "2011-07-27T20:29:45Z")
Ya my short term memory is doing great today. I just went to make dinner and found the other two cold meals I cooked and set down. I’m done here. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429/49 "2011-07-27T21:15:00Z")
You go away for a while and it’s amazing what springs up. I didn’t want to be one of those OPosters who never re-appears. I don’t care what the naysayers have written above. The guy was a major contender for the presidency, and his religion was a big discussion point. I admit that I’m mopre sensitive to the LDS, having been associated closely with Mormons (and having lived four years in SLC). And Romney is still fresh in my mind from the years he was my governor in Massachusetts. But I still would have been aware of his religion even if those hadn’t been true. It’s not the same as knowing, say, Newt Gingrich’s religion, since this was somewhat controversial. I’m not even going partisan on this. I’m appalled at the level of ignorance in this country about both Romney and Obama. Even after watching years of _Jaywalking_. After years of the media smacking the public over the head with this (it’s been on the cover of _Newsweek_, people!), how can the general public be this unaware? They can’t _all_ be watching the Shopping Network. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429/50 "2011-07-27T22:11:25Z")
> [@raspberry\_hunter](#): > > Mormons believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and all that, so in that sense are Christians, but they do not believe in or recite the Nicene Creed or the Apostles’ Creed, which is how some churches define Christianity (most Christian churches in my experience – feel free to correct me if I am wrong – would say that they believe the Apostles’ Creed even if they do not recite it every week)… so in that sense would not be counted as Christian. It depends a bit whom you ask, I suppose. (And I don’t think the Book of Mormon really has much bearing on it, or should not, any more than whether you believe acupuncture works should have a whole lot of bearing on whether a third party thinks you are Christian.) Sorry if I get the terminology wrong. As I said above, I’m an atheist. But doesn’t rejecting the doctrine of the Trinity as expressed in the Nicene Creed mean that just about all adherents of Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant sects are apostates in terms of Mormon theology? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429/51 "2011-07-27T23:53:05Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > The guy was a major contender for the presidency, and his religion was a big discussion point. Mainly because he himself kept bringing it up, by way of trying to explain his poor and shrinking support as based in religious bigotry rather than contempt for his pandering and empty-suitedness . But, as several posters have pointed out, even fewer people care about that factoid than know it,\* and that’s a good thing.\* > [@](#): > > Even after watching years of _Jaywalking_. You do know that’s all staged, right? That the people on it know what it is and know they can get on TV by acting stupid, right? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429/52 "2011-07-28T00:14:51Z")
I’m Canadian and I knew he was Mormon. And speaking of which: A Mormon was seated next to a Newfie on a flight to St. John’s. After the plane was airborne, drink orders were taken. The Newfie asked for Rum & Coke, which was brought and placed before him. The flight attendant then asked the Mormon if he would like a drink. He replied in disgust… “I’d rather be savagely raped by a dozen whores than let liquor touch my lips.” The Newfie then handed his drink back to the attendant and said, “Me too, I didn’t know we had a choice.” ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429/53 "2011-07-28T00:36:29Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > Most people don’t know fuck-all about any particular subject. Try asking Americans if Reagan or Clinton ran a bigger debt. Also compare Clinton to W? And these are facts. Try asking them whose policies caused the Great Recession (which is to some extent a matter of opinion since Clinton certainly did his share of bank deregulation; but that’s getting down to detail, the ignorance is too broadly based for that to be relevant). Try asking Canadians if crime is up recently, as the government insists because they want to plaster the country in new prisons. There are still loads of climate change deniers. That is a question of fact, while the question of whether it is the result of human activity is perhaps less certain. Is there a webpage where you can pick out presidents and contrast compare them, by stuff like unemployment, debt, issues like that? [that isn’t biased and interested in trashing on people - nicely straight fact based stuff] maybe also debunking stuff like stating that yes obama is a citizen christian and whatnot? I think it would be sort of like a combination of snopes and whatnot. It would be interesting to see their platforms and if they kept campaign promises and such. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429/54 "2011-07-28T03:39:17Z")
> [@](#): > > You do know that’s all staged, right? That the people on it know what it is and know they can get on TV by acting stupid, right? Is it? Ya got proof, or is it because that;'s what you’d do? ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429/55 "2011-07-28T04:01:12Z")
> [@Scuba\_Ben](#): > > I’ll bite: Who’s Kim Kardashian (other than “a celebrity”) and why is she famous? Weren’t the Kardashians the baddies in Star Trek DS9? ---
**Author:** ![raspberry\_hunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@raspberry\_hunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raspberry_hunter)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429/56 "2011-07-28T04:06:30Z")
> [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > Sorry if I get the terminology wrong. As I said above, I’m an atheist. But doesn’t rejecting the doctrine of the Trinity as expressed in the Nicene Creed mean that just about all adherents of Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant sects are apostates in terms of Mormon theology? Well, it certainly means Mormons think other Christian churches are incorrect (“do not have the proper authority/teachings”). But Protestants think Catholics are incorrect for believing in transubstantiation and in the Pope, and Catholics think Protestants have missed the boat by not acknowledging the Pope’s authority, and they both think Eastern Orthodox are totally wrong on this filioque thing in the Nicene Creed (uh, don’t even ask me to explain what it is or why this is a big deal, I don’t get it either). My husband has certainly attended Protestant churches that did not allow communion with other Protestant sects. I agree that the difference between Mormons and other Christians is greater than between Christian sects, but it is not great enough for Mormons to deny that other Christians are, well, Christian. I don’t really understand the Trinity myself, but I suspect – especially based on conversations with Protestants I know – that the average Mormon’s belief that God is one in purpose, three in person is not really all that much different from the average Protestant’s belief that God is one in essence, three in person, even if theologically they are light-years apart. And I can say fairly confidently that the average Mormon would be hard-pressed to tell you exactly what s/he objected to in the Apostles’ Creed, even if while maintaining a position of disbelief in its truthiness/divine-inspiration. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429/57 "2011-07-28T05:13:50Z")
> [@raspberry\_hunter](#): > > I don’t really understand the Trinity myself, but I suspect – especially based on conversations with Protestants I know – that the average Mormon’s belief that God is one in purpose, three in person is not really all that much different from the average Protestant’s belief that God is one in essence, three in person, even if theologically they are light-years apart. And I can say fairly confidently that the average Mormon would be hard-pressed to tell you exactly what s/he objected to in the Apostles’ Creed, even if while maintaining a position of disbelief in its truthiness/divine-inspiration. From my experience, most Christians would be hard pressed to explain the difference between Christianity and Islam and Judaism much less Mormonism. Their church is like some social club they joined where they never bothered to read the bylaws. I don’t know if I’m reading it right, but some of the stuff I’ve come across imply that Mormons believe that Jesus was originally a man who was elevated to godhood. I suspect even an Arian would get very upset on that point. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429/58 "2011-07-28T13:23:50Z")
> [@MacTech](#): > > Weren’t the Kardashians the baddies in Star Trek DS9? No, that was Chaka-Khan. (or was that the little monkey guy from LandOfTheLost?) ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429/59 "2011-07-28T13:40:45Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Is it? > > Ya got proof, or is it because that;'s what you’d do? Come on, does this really need a cite? Jay Leno walks up to you on the street and says “Want to play Jaywalking?” If you’re even vaguely familiar with the show, you know the only way to get on TV is to say stupid stuff. But if you want more proof… > **[are the stupid people shown Jay Leno's "jaywalking" actors?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=194705)** > > There was a thread here once about the Jerry Springer show, which implied that a lot of the outrageous people there were just college students (esp. theater students) who invented crazy stories just so they could get on TV. What about Jay Leno’s... ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429/60 "2011-07-28T13:47:07Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Come on, does this really need a cite? Jay Leno walks up to you on the street and says “Want to play Jaywalking?” If you’re even vaguely familiar with the show, you know the only way to get on TV is to say stupid stuff. > > But if you want more proof… > > [are the stupid people shown Jay Leno's "jaywalking" actors? - Factual Questions - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=194705) Sorry. I fail to see the proof. Yeah, I understand the situation. I understood it way before this thread. But I do think people are that ignorant. They certainly _could_ play dumb to get on TV, but they don’t _have_ to. Most people are rotten actors, and if they’re too obvious about it, they won’t get on the show, because obvious is painfully obvious. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-than-50-of-americans-polled-dont-know-romneys-religion/590429.md?page=4)