Are Mormons Christian?

Should the state ever decide who is Christian and who is not?

Briefly, the Pentagon seemed to be doing so, creating a new condensed list of religious “codes” for military personnel that labeled some traditions, like Catholic or Pentecostal, as “Christian,” while excluding Mormons. Some Mormon politicians loudly decried the new policy for rejecting Mormons as Christians and by implication supposedly impugning their patriotism.

The latter point was gratuitous since a patriot does not need to be a Christian. More importantly, Mormons as Americans are entitled to equal treatment before the law with everybody else. Whether they are Christian or not makes no difference in their status as citizens, of course.

Obviously reacting to the Mormon indignation, the Pentagon backtracked and created a new list of recognized religious categories without coding any as Christian. There are Catholics, Baptists, Muslims, Hindus, Anglicans, etc. Of course, decades ago, the military just had three major categories:  Protestant, Catholic, and Jew.

It’s unclear why the Pentagon briefly flirted with creating a “Christian” umbrella for groups ostensibly qualified. Purportedly it was for administrative simplicity. But it elicited snarly public conversation. Some Mormons felt obligated, needlessly, to defend their patriotism and their self-identity as Christians. Some Christians felt the need to critique Mormons as non-Christians who were presumptuous to claim otherwise.

Some Evangelicals have long felt a special need to clarify that Mormons, whatever their claims, are not Christians. Mormons, after all, have different views about the Trinity, Jesus’s deity, salvation, and the afterlife. They have their own supplemental scripture. Few if any Christian churches, whether Catholic, Evangelical, or even theologically permissive Mainline Protestant, recognize the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) as direct ecumenical partners. Few if any Christian traditions recognize Mormon baptisms as Christian baptisms. Mormon converts to more traditional Christian churches typically are rebaptized.

Mormons counter that they look to Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, despite their theological differences. In our wonderful society of free speech and religious freedom, every citizen can debate these topics. Catholics and Evangelicals can critique Mormonism as a different sort of religion. Mormons can make their claims. Everyone can decide where they stand.

But the government really has no role in this debate. Every American citizen is equal before the law. Each citizen’s religious affiliation is legally inconsequential. How religious groups self-identify, and what they teach, is outside the government’s purview. Any religious group can theologically claim anything it wants. And critics can rhetorically fire away at these claims.

The military obviously includes adherents of every major faith. The list of religious categories for the Pentagon had grown to over 211, which became administratively complicated, hence the reduction to 31, including a category for “other.” And apparently some members of the military were dubiously claiming esoteric religious identities to justify special considerations that were becoming burdensome. So, reducing the overall number of listed groups was understandable. Providing a “Christian” umbrella and deciding which groups qualify was never wise.

Unfortunately, this brief episode exposed America’s growing tribalism. Online Catholics and Protestants chimed in with their hot takes about Mormonism not being Christian. These theological arguments are important conversations for Christians but really have little to no public policy relevance. So, what if Mormons are not Christians? It is legally and ideally politically irrelevant.

The insistence by Mormon lawmakers that their kindred are both Christian and patriotic was also irrelevant to the Pentagon issue. Senator Mike Crapo of Idaho tweeted:

The move by the Pentagon to leave The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints off its list of Christian religions is confounding and unacceptable. Regardless of one’s own religious philosophy, you will find Latter-day Saints, whose foundational beliefs are centered on Jesus Christ, among the most patriotic individuals in our country, serving not only in the military, but throughout various government departments and around the world. I join with my colleagues and fellow Idahoans calling on the Pentagon to make an immediate correction.

Senator John Curtis of Utah tweeted:

Latter-day Saints are among the most patriotic, service-oriented individuals in our country. They are also unequivocally Christian—just look at who is in the name of the Church. It is unacceptable for a government entity to characterize a faith in a manner that contradicts the religion’s own foundational tenets. I am working now to ensure a correction is made.

As part of a wider tweet storm, Senator Mike Lee of Utah exclaimed:

The West Point Glee Club performed “Onward Christian Soldiers” on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1954. I’m glad they weren’t asked to sing “Onward Christian Soldiers, Excluding Latter-day Saints” The Pentagon shouldn’t disparage the beliefs of Americans willing to die for their country.

Nobody doubts that Mormons are patriotic and many serve commendably in the military. Whether they are Christian or not is not pertinent to their patriotism or their status as Americans. Mormons and their Christian critics can debate theologically while also sharing fraternity as Americans.

Notably, the brief Pentagon list of “Christian” bodies, while excluding Mormons, did include Jehovah’s Witnesses and Christian Scientists, whom most traditional Christians would also deem outside orthodox Christianity. Alas, Jehovah’s Witnesses are pacifists and unlikely to serve in the military. And the dwindling number of Christian Scientists are chiefly people too old to serve. Still, their inclusion, while excluding far more numerous Mormons, was peculiar.

This Pentagon instigated conversation about Christians and Mormonism came amid rising unease about America’s tradition of full equality for all irrespective of religion. The founder of the Pentagon chief’s denomination, Doug Wilson, advocates a Protestant confessional state in which, for example, Catholic Marian processions would be illegal since, from the churchman’s perspective, they are idolatrous. Self-professed “Christian Nationalists” like Wilson with Catholic integralists, plus some other post liberals, disdain civil religious neutrality and pluralism as a decadent, failed experiment.

Senator Lee was correct when he tweeted: “I can say confidently that the U.S. government has no business recognizing the Christianity of literally every other religious sect that worships Jesus Christ — with one exception.”  Lee also specified he was not referring to what “individual Christians might think.”

Individual Christians and every other American can make their own theological judgments. But the state has no role in that conversation, treating all citizens as equal members of the national family.