What's Up With That #6 Taboo

O.K., here's what I don't get.  Mr. Romney is proud to be of the Mormon faith.  He has been Mormon all his life, as is his family.  He'll say, and rightly so, it has shaped his life.  Yet, no one else is supposed to bring up the fact that he is a Mormon, and his beliefs might be built on his experiences as a practicing Mormon.

Why is this taboo?  What's up with that?

In my 58 years of life I can count on one hand the number of times I have missed church.  The only times I don't show up are if I am throwing up or something disgusting like that.  If I'm on vacation, I go to church.  Always have, even as a child.  I have been a member of the same denomination the whole 58 years.

I'm not saying this to sound saintly, but to make the point that it has shaped my life.  Everything I think, or do, how I spend my money, or where I volunteer are all based on my experiences of being a member of my denomination.

So I would think that Mr. Romney's outlook on life, his opinions, belief system, all that kind of thing, has been formed in the bowels of his religious upbringing; a religion that doesn't allow people of color or women to be in the church hierarchy or have positions of power.  Take a look at their website and check out the leaders.  The First President and all the twelve Apostles are the whitest looking bunch of middle aged to elderly males I have ever seen. An organization couldn't have more testosterone or be more vanilla.

My husband and I went to Nauvoo for a day trip a few years ago.  After touring some of the buildings and hearing how mean all the non-Mormons were to the Mormons ad nauseum, we went into the visitor's center for a talk by a Mormon tour guide.  A member of the audience asked why Mormons discriminated against women in the church. The spokesman said that Mormons respected women, and their purpose.  He then pointed out the window to a garden filled with statues of women in various poses; women praying, courting, teaching children, and one called "Fulfillment" that has a woman sewing a quilt.  Most of the statues had women with children.   He told us that women had their place and they should be content that their sole purpose in life was to marry for eternity, have lots of children and be fulfilled as a mother and wife.  He said that the fulfillment provided by such things was all a woman needed.

We slowly backed out of the building and left Nauvoo never to return.

If that is a person's belief and it makes them happy then good for them, it's a free country.  But, could being raised in a religion that teaches that kind of belief not affect your attitude on women?  Really?

The Mormon church also doesn't have people of color in any position of leadership in the church because the leaders have to trace their genealogy back to the apostles and according to the Mormons, the apostles were white guys.

I'm thinking while looking at the church leaders that some creative genealogy must have been involved.

Mr. Romney has not shared how these beliefs have helped to make him who he is today.  Why does everyone shy away from asking him?

If I could ask him questions, I'd ask him if he agreed with those particular dictates of Mormonism.  I'd ask him if he could separate his religious beliefs from his political life.

No one minded asking John Kennedy those kinds of questions.  When he ran for president he made a point of saying his Catholic beliefs would not affect how he governed.  That didn't stop people like Pastor Dunn from Grace Presbyterian from preaching to his congregation not to vote for a Catholic in the White House.  But now, it's frowned upon to mention the "M" word. 

I know I'll get some flak about this so if you want to comment and tell me it's a shallow post, go ahead, I don't agree with you.  Hey, I just want to know "What's Up With That"?