The Shifting Public Image of Mormonism (Part III)
(with Lynita K. Newswander and Chad B. Newswander)
The New Face of Mormonism
Interestingly, The Book of Mormon musical—separate as it is from the official faith and doctrine of the LDS—elicited a much different reaction from the Church than Big Love had done only a few years prior. While the latter inspired a strong media statement refuting the show and emphasizing the Church’s stance, the former was met with a much different attitude, though no less casually. The Book of Mormon musical was popular from its early press, and speaking against it would reinforce the 20th century image of the LDS Church as stodgy, old-fashioned, and distanced from the times. And so the Public Affairs bureau of the LDS Church went about things in an unprecedented and unexpected way: they capitalized on the fame and launched a large campaign in New York City’s Times Square. Billboards, subway ads, and ads on top of taxi cabs all shared images of a new Mormonism—one represented by regular people doing regular things. For example, one ad showed an Asian woman riding a surfboard with the tagline “I am a Mormon.”[27] The result has been a positive uptick in missionary contacts and traffic to the website mormon.org. As Peggy Fletcher Stack of the Salt Lake Tribune put it: “there's no business like show business — to boost a religion.”[28]
Branding Mormonism
This effort is part of a larger campaign to “brand” Mormonism. According to the Huffington Post, Church spokesman Michael Purdy explains: “There's a national conversation going on about Mormonism and we want to be a part of it.”[29] Part of this conversation is getting the message out that the Church is not the stiff, immovable bureaucracy it once was. In so doing, it does not actively distance itself from uncharacteristic portrayals of its faith as it had previously done. The Book of Mormon musical is not the only example of this shift in behavior, which has also been manifest in other areas. For example, although Real World participant Julie Stoffer was kicked out of BYU for sharing living quarters with men, more recent Survivor favorite Dawn Meehan, a professor at BYU was not sanctioned for similarly “rooming” with men as part of her show. In fact, she returned for another season, all while maintaining her status at the university. Similarly, in 2011 BYU basketball player Brandon Davies broke the honor code and was suspended, not expelled out from the school. In fact, he was even allowed to travel with the team as it competed in the NCAA tournament. BYU’s more forgiving attitude toward honor code violations by students and faculty in the public eye is indicative of a broader trend of rebranding the faith as one welcoming to members from a variety of backgrounds and perspectives, none of whom are perfect.
The LDS Church itself understands the implications of outside forces defining what it means to be Mormon. It has also grappled with internal issues that raise similar questions regarding the shifting Mormon identity. As the LDS Church continues to grow in size, it is no longer confined to the Mountain West, but has become a global presence.[30] [31] [32] Today, more Mormons live outside the United States than in it. The growing religion can no longer simply be identified by a pioneer stock that was expelled from the borders of the United States in the 19th century. As a result of these external and internal forces of change, the Church hired two large advertising agencies to find out what Americans thought of Mormons. Through focus groups, the answers were clear and not very flattering: “secretive,” “cultish,” “sexist,” “controlling,” “pushy,” and “anti-gay” were among the common perceptions.[33] [34]
Brandon Burton, president and general manager of Bonneville Communications, an advertising agency owned by the church, explains that this revelation required a quick and decisive change of pace in the Church’s public relations campaign.[35] In late 2011 it unveiled its purposive plan to present its visions of what it means to be Mormon and also counter negative images and stereotypes. Previous advertisements had explained LDS doctrine with the intent to persuade viewers that Mormons are, in fact, Christian, and ended with an invitation to call a toll-free number and order a copy of the Book of Mormon or the Bible. Though there was some success through these efforts, they still had not dispelled some of the negative imagery of the Mormon people as a whole.
Consequently, Burton and his team took a much different approach. Rather than highlighting the Church’s central focus on the traditional family and middle-class American values, the new “I am a Mormon” campaign portrays a vibrant faith with a varied, multi-cultural membership. To alleviate some of the more negative consequences associated with perceived differences, the campaign highlighted real members of the faith—from world champion surfers to stay at home moms—with the message that stereotypical perceptions of Mormons as insular, fundamentalist, or otherwise outside of the norm are far from the truth. The driving theme of the campaign was that members of the church are diverse and different, but are united by a common belief in certain articles of faith. The practice of the faith as outlined by LDS Church standards provides a common backdrop that defines the faith and allows members express their own individuality and celebrate their own cultural heritage.
The campaign has been touted as “very savvy branding” by others in the business of advertising.[36] “Previous campaigns focused on what we believe, and we also want people to know who we are because of what we believe,” said Purdy. “This is one way to get to know us.”[37] The message that comes across, according to Kathleen Flake, a religious scholar from Vanderbilt Divinity School, is “We’re like you.”[38] In other words, Mormons are the people next door—black, white, Hispanic, single-parents, large families, loud and quiet. Over a century after Brigham Young gloried in the peculiarity of his people, the message being sent from the LDS Church today is that they aren’t so different, after all.
It may seem an odd approach for a church to have a public relations department as active and expensive as the Mormons’ (estimates are that the “I am a Mormon” campaign alone has cost over $6 million[39]). In addition to handling its own image on a corporate level, local level church members serve as public affairs representatives on a local level in communities throughout the world. The mission of public affairs is just as important as any other duty expected of Mormon members. Specifically, they are expected to “establish key relationships” with opinion leaders, or “those who can affect the public reputation of the Church or who can help or hinder the Church in the achievement of its mission.”[40] The goal is not proselyting or conversions, but building relationships. In other words, creating and maintaining control over an image that will foster better understanding between the LDS Church and the communities wherein it resides.
Experience has proven that the public image of the LDS Church is inextricably tied to its continued growth and success with would-be converts. Instructions given to those involved in local public affairs remind individuals of the importance of perception: “Above all, you will be helping influential people who are not of our faith to recognize The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a positive influence in the world and its members as sincere and diligent disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.”[41] The LDS Church as an organization, with the help of millions of members around the world who are happy to declare “I am a Mormon,” continues to work to build a reputation through media, personal relationships, and whatever means available.
Conclusion
The change in the public perception of Mormons, driven by both Mormons and non-Mormons alike, is reflective of the change in American society during the past fifty years from one of being traditional, staid, and white to pluralistic, dynamic, and multi-ethnic.[42] Whether in entertainment, politics, business, and even in the LDS Church’s promotion of itself, the perception of Mormons has evolved along the same pattern as Americans perceive themselves as a more culturally diverse society. This transformation in the public’s perception of Mormons therefore should not be surprising, as Mormons have become more integrated and accepted into mainstream American society and culture.
As American society first started to recognize in popular culture its cultural diversity in the late 1960s, Mormons were portrayed as representing traditional, wholesome, and all-American white values, such as Osmonds. Likewise in business with Stephen Covey and in politics with Mitt Romney, the public perception of Mormons calls back to a time of American prosperity, decency, and dominance of the world. However, this portrayal of Mormons to represent these values is ironic for two reasons. First, the public perception of Mormons as representing these traditional values came at a time when these very values were being displaced by new ones of diversity, pluralism, and secularism. As American society became more conscious of its ethnic and religious diversity, the Osmonds stepped onto center stage in American music and TV; as American businesses began to lose its global dominance, Stephen Covey’s Effective Habits shot to the top of the best-selling business book list; and as the Republican Party currently is faced with the challenge of a changing electoral demographics, Mitt Romney became their nominee. In each of these cases, Mormons entered and were accepted by mainstream American society for representing a set of values that were fading in influence and power.
But perhaps even more ironic is that Mormons have been asked to serve as the public personas for traditional America, a group that previously has been marginalized, persecuted, and perceived as representing quintessentially anti-America values. With a history of exile from upstate New York to the Midwest and eventually to Salt Lake City, Mormons have faced discrimination, oppression, and even the murder of their founder, Joseph Smith, in Carthage, Illinois from the American public. From their initial application to statehood rejected to their military confrontations with the U.S. federal government, Mormons traditionally have been viewed with suspicion, if not downright hostility, by Americans. The irony of American culture and society in the past fifty years is that Mormons were the ones asked to represent these traditional values, a set of values that initially marginalized and persecuted them.[43]
But more recently Mormons have not only been asked to portray American traditional values but also contribute to the more culturally diverse conversation about American culture. Whether in reality TV shows like Survivor or musicals such as The Book of Mormon, Mormons are depicted as having a diverse set of values as reflective of American society itself: some are conservative like Glenn Beck; some are progressive like Joanna Brooks; and other are a combination of both. Perhaps the most telling of this changing perception of Mormons in popular culture is the LDS Church’s “I am a Mormon” campaign to show to the American public that its religion is varied, multi-cultural, and inclusive. Mormons are not a homogenous set of strangers living in the Intermountain West but one’s neighbor, co-worker, and friend.
As American society recognizes and respects more its cultural diversity, Mormons consequently are no longer stigmatized and are allowed to participate in conversation about the nature and direction of mainstream American culture. But as Mormons began to participate in this conversation, we discover that Mormons themselves are as diverse as American society with its own cultural diversity and individuality celebrated behind a backdrop of common religious beliefs. No longer just seen as a proxy for traditional American values, Mormons are starting to be viewed as diverse as America itself. As American society continues to change, Mormons likewise will, too, being both reflective and contributing to this new understanding of what it means to be an American—and a Mormon—today and in the future.
[27] Jaweed Kaleem, “Hundreds of Mormon Ads Launched in New York City,” The Huffington Post, June 22, 2011, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/22/mormon-ads-new-york_n_881834.html.
[28] Peggy Fletcher Stack, “Also Playing on Broadway: New Mormon Ad,” The Salt Lake Tribune, June 20, 2011, http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/52005719-78/church-mormon-lds-musical.html.csp.
[29] Kaleem, “Hundreds of Mormon Ads Launched in New York City.”
[30] Claudia L. Bushman and Richard L. Bushman, Building the Kingdom: A History of Mormons in America (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001).
[31] Claudia L. Bushman, Contemporary Mormonism: Latter-day Saints in Modern America, (Westport: Praeger, 2008).
[32] Richard Ostling & Joan K. Ostling, Mormon America (New York: Harper Collins, 2007).
[33] Laurie Goodstein, “Mormons’ Ad Campaign May Play Out in the ‘12 Campaign Trail,” NewYorkTimes.com, November 17, 2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/18/us/mormon-ad-campaign-seeks-to-improve-perceptions.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0.
[34] Church PR efforts began in the 1970s when the two terms most commonly associated with Mormonism were “polygamy” and “racist”. The result was the famous “Family: It’s all about time” catchphrase. See Michelle Boorstein, “Mormons Using the Web to Control Their Own Image,” WashingtonPost.com, August 17, 2011, http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/mormons-using-the-web-to-control-their-own-image/2011/08/11/gIQA1J6BMJ_print.html.
[35] Laurie Goodstein, “Mormons’ Ad Campaign May Play Out in the ‘12 Campaign Trail,” NewYorkTimes.com, November 17, 2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/18/us/mormon-ad-campaign-seeks-to-improve-perceptions.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0.
[36] Laura Riparbelli, “Mormon NYC Campaign ‘Savvy Branding’,” ABCNews.com, June 21, 2011, http://abcnews.go.com/Business/mormon-nyc-ad-campaign-savvy-branding/story?id=13888304.
[37] Ibid.
[38] Eric Marrapodi, “With “I’m a Mormon’ Campaign, Church Counters Lily-whit Image”, CNN Belief Blog, November 2, 2011, http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/02/with-im-a-mormon-campaign-church-counters-lily-white-image/.
[39] Laurie Goodstein, “Mormons’ Ad Campaign May Play Out in the ‘12 Campaign Trail.”
[40] “Public Affairs: Getting Started,” LDS.org. Accessed March 4, 2013, http://publicaffairs.lds.org/eng/getting-started.
[41] Ibid.
[42] See Armand Mauss, All Abraham’s Children: Changing Mormon Conceptions of Race and Lineage (Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2003).
[43] For more about this ironic place of Mormons in American culture, refer to Lee Trepanier and Lynita K. Newswander, LDS in USA: Mormonism and the Making of American Culture (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2011).
This was originally published in The Routledge Companion to Religion and Popular Culture.