![]() A few highlights include “Ezra Taft Benson and the Conservative Turn of ‘Those Amazing Mormons,’” which outlines the political shift of Mormonism before, during, and after the presidency of Ezra Taft Benson. Indeed the “A-list” was truly assembled in this collection of essays, all of which constitute in and of themselves valuable contributions to the study of Mormonism’s interactions with politics. The papers are arranged chronologically in three parts: Origins and Tensions, Shifting Alliances, and Into the Twenty-First Century. The collaborators are a fair mix of Mormons and non-Mormons and are described in the introduction as ranking in the “A-list” (xi). ![]() It examines, for instance, how Mormons have and continue to operate politically as well as how political entities have viewed the Mormons. This work looks at Mormonism from multiple perspectives and vantage points. This collection of papers, apart from three, were first presented at a conference on Mormonism and Politics held at Columbia University in 2012. Balmer and Riess begin with that premise and prove it throughout the volume as contributors investigate the relationship and interactions between Mormonism and politics from Joseph Smith to present day. Mormonism, say Randall Balmer and Jana Riess, the editors of Mormonism and American Politics, is “inextricably tied to politics” (ix). ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |