I'm convinced now that it's nothing more than a sociological cult who's sold purpose is to separate people from their hard earned money. The trappings of religion are solely there to reel people in.
Especially for jackmormons who can't separate the culture from the religion, and will vigorously defend an attack on the religion, even though they don't believe/follow it, taking it as an attack on their culture.
Mormonism is a religious cult. It is not a culture. It is not a tribe. It is not an acceptable way to live--being tricked into being something you are not.
As a cult it does qualify as a religion on some level--this based on the fact that it has the identifiable marks of religion, such as church buildings, hymns, sacrament, clergy, bibles and other scriptures, as well as their version of God, heaven and hell, and finally,virtually no basis in fact ( the key to identifying a religion).
It may be hard to tell what it is because even though it is apparently a religion, it is most definitely a mess.
I think it's honestly debatable whether Mormonism is a religion in the sense that Christianity, Islam, or Buddhism is a religion. There are a lot of similiarities, but Mormonism also has a lot in common with the boatload of para-religious belief systems that have risen in the period since the late eighteenth century.
These include Swedenborgianism, Transcendentalism, Christian Science, Marxism, Scientology, Koreshanity, Theosophy, the Cult of the Supreme Being, the Religion of Humanity, the Unification Church, Spiritualism, and even UFO para-religions like the Aetherius Society and Raelism. After all, Joseph Smith did teach that God was originally a man who lived on another planet.
The common denominators of these para-religions include complicated and often contradictory sets of beliefs, some of which may be reserved as secrets for initiates; apocalypticism or millenialism; a fascination with a superficial idea of science; the idea that believers comprise a sort of elite group that is going to play a special role in history; a lack of real intellectual depth or serious scholarship; and a kind of rump morality that often justifies "lesser evils" that are thought to serve the cause of a "greater good."
I hesitate to criticize my fellow posters for spelling errors or typos, but you appear to have three extra letters in the word "cult". "Is Mormonism more of a CULT(emphasis added) than a religion?". There now, doesn't that read better?????
It's a subculture one is born into or tricked into joining. Those born mormons, cant see how odd they appear, because its all they know, much like the mafia, gypsies, gang families, and or certan professions.
Logically nobody would join if they knew all the facts and history, so they are tricked. Just like nobody would trust a gypsie on a scam.
In the very mundane sense, every group of people have a culture. For the morons in this post who are claiming that Mormonism isn't a culture, they clearly don't understand the definition of the word.
There is a very specific and detailed Mormon culture. It fits within Utah culture very easily.
It is hard to say whether it is more a religion than a culture. For those who are devout, it is probably more a religious devotion. For those who are kind of outside of the religious part of it, it is probably a huge part of their culture.
If you are going to call someone a moron, I think you owe a better explanation of "Mormon Culture" than the trite response of
"it fits within Utah culture very easily"
Now that is an undeveloped thought. From reading this board, it is clear to me that the Utah mormon experience seems to be a very different experience compared to many other areas globally. There are at least 8 definitions of culture in Websters and I dare say anyone on this board have their own definition of it as well as additional connotations. It is just that kind of word.
One of the things that surprised me most when I first started reading this board was how very varied the church experience seemed to be depending on the area the exmo in question was from. This makes defining a Mormon culture in simplistic terms very difficult.
The things in common world wide here that have caused damage in peoples lives, comes from the religion.
The church professes to be, a world wide religion--the only true religion no less. Any cultural part is indeed mundane, and it is the church, not the culture that is doing the damage and is the reason that this board even exists in my opinion.
For me, the culture is the jello salads, funeral potatoes, and wedding decorated basketball hoops.
The religious part is the devastation that I read here everyday caused by the doctrines, inexperienced untrained clergy, and mind control.
Other than you don't like my use of the word moron, I think we agree just fine.
I still hold that the people who state that Mormonism isn't a culture are morons. They are more interested in dismissing Mormonism than understanding and using words correctly. I don't owe anybody who can't figure whether Mormonism is a culture or not an explanation.
Now, with that out of the way, yeah, every large culture has many subcultures. Within Utah culture we can easily identify a Mormon culture, a liberal culture, a gay culture, etc. Within those cultures, we can identify subcultures as well. Somebodies difficult time within the structure of the Mormon church could be considered evidence for another subculture.
The process of defining culture isn't difficult at all, but it is interesting.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/10/2012 06:20PM by snb.
Even as a convert, I thought the "religion" part was bogus. I had difficulty keeping a straight face when hearing about the golden plates, Jesus visiting the New World, and all the other theological flufferisms.
What attracted me was that the people seemed so NICE, so DECENT. I had just escaped from an abusive, adulterous marriage and a soul-scarring divorce. Finding a church where they were clear - and even fierce - about what was right and what was wrong was very soothing to my battered soul. I think I had lost all sense of emotional balance at that time, and the church provided training wheels and kept me from falling. At least, that's how it seemed.
Having been a "corporate wife" for years, I had hosted too many parties where some jerk had too much to drink and was trying to grope somebody else's wife, or crawl under the dining room table to pass out, or vomit in the hydrangeas out back. I'm pretty good at refinishing furniture, but I resented having to refinish expensive coffee tables where unthinking jerks left cigarettes smoldering. So I found that parties where nobody drank alcohol or smoked cigarettes could actually be FUN.
I definitely joined the church for the sense of community. But as I healed from my traumas, the "community" started to become oppressive, and that's when I started looking for the EXIT sign.
looks more like a Chinese factory....the "company" owns everything and provides everything including everything you know, think about, eat and wear....
I think it's a culture centered around a religion. Like majority Muslim countries. Because Muslims don't believe in copyrights, you can get anything you want for really cheap...you also won't find too many rib joints either, but hey...
Or in India, there are other religions, but most of society is centered around Hinduism. Like you can get meat in a Hindu owned restaurant, but because their religion doesn't permit them to cut meat, it is usually prepackaged and full of preservatives. Or they just buy it from a halal butcher.
In both places, religion is sort of side dish. It's always there, even if people don't really take it seriously.
Except LDS, Inc., is already a corporation. & it doesn't have anything to offer anyone, unlike the Oneida silversmiths did, & what Oneida now does as a corporation.
It's more of a lack of culture than anything. When I first read the title of this thread, that was the first snarky answer that occurred to me. But after reading all your posts, it's Mormons lack of ability to get along comfortably with a diverse world that distinguishes them. It's why they cling together - because they don't relate to the dominant culture ANYWHERE...except in their home planet of Utah. And their failure to see their own oddities also makes them a group unto themselves that lacks culture.
Bingo. Thank you CA girl. This topic fascinates me for a lot of reasons and that is the best I have heard. That is the way I really wanted to see it put.
You look at the great cultures that this planet has known, and whatever the mormons have that might pass for a culture is very sad in comparison and would never be described as "rich".
The culture definitely takes priority over the religion. Since controversial doctrines are frequently changing to fit current events or socio-political trends, the consistency rests with the "unofficial" dogma that gets passed on through oral traditions, faith-promoting stories, passive-aggressive behavior, and a consistent blind respect to the "authority" (priesthood) and pioneer lineage which may or may not directly define the participant. The church is filled with a lot of tall tales that cater to a particular personality type who passes down those traditions in their own family or they seek other similar personality types to share in their interpretations. It's an all or none scenario where exclusion and subtle manipulation is often used to whip people into "spiritual" shape regardless of their reservations and concerns. The leadership knows this and keep repeating these patterns where doctrinal plausible deniability fits them well and never makes them out as the bad guy. They probably think "let the members police and coerce each other while they look to us for guidance and spiritual clarity (which we'll never give) at the next General Conference or in the next issue of the Ensign. The culture of the organization definitely trumps the message and application of true love and compassion which should be the cornerstone of any benevolent organization.