The Mormon Fundamentalist movement

Mormon Fundamentalism

The Rise and Eventual Fall of Mormon Fundamentalism

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, wherein its followers are popularly called Mormons, has a rigorous yet interesting history that makes it an interesting subject of study in the field of social science. As a socio-religious institution, the Mormons distinguishes itself from other religions and churches as being "the only true and living church upon earth," as indicated by its Book of Mormon. Established in the early 19th century, and as a young religion, LDS can claim for itself a 'development' in history, wherein transitions on the kind of religious culture implemented in LDS has evolved.

Primarily, this paper looks into the evolution of LDS from being a fundamentalist religious institution to later becoming, and assuming, a pragmatic approach towards the practice of faith and religiosity. This paper discusses and analyzes the varying cultures which the LDS have undergone, looking specifically at the culture of fundamentalism and its eventual lack of popularity among Mormons.

This paper posits that the Mormons shifted from being a fundamentalist to becoming a pragmatic religious institution due to changes in its religious culture. That is, changes in leadership and social environment of the Mormons became the main factors that made possible this radical change. Moreover, the sustainability of fundamentalism as the governing principle of a religious institution proved to be not feasible in the socio-cultural environment of Western societies, areas in which Mormons experienced increased growth in following, popularity and strong support.

LDS's fundamentalist roots can be traced to the influence of the fundamentalist movement to religious institutions that were established or had gained strong influence during the 19th century. Having developed itself as an institution in the 19th century, LDS is a strongly organized and conservative movement, subsisting strictly and exclusively to the Book of Mormon. As a fundamentalist religious institution, Mormons held strongly to their religious beliefs, as indoctrinated in the Book of Mormon. However, LDS as a fundamentalist religious institution was short-lived; eventually, Mormons gave way to scientific theories and new forms of philosophies and beliefs in their social environment, lessening the influence of fundamentalism. Eventually and at present, LDS is known popularly for its once fundamentalist stance, but are currently known as a pragmatic form of religious institution.

LDS after the early 20th century, wherein fundamentalism gradually lost its influence and popularity, has also gradually decreased its image as an institution that gives "insistence on the literality of divine discourse," a feature common among fundamentalist organizations (Newell, 217). However, noticeable in this change was a change in the socio-cultural environment of the Mormons, and not specifically of the doctrine and theological principles of Mormons. This funding is an important assertion in this discussion: as much as Mormons have changed their stance from being fundamentalist to becoming a pragmatic religion, they did not change the very foundation of their church and religion. Instead, it can be observed that the social environment changed, and the Mormons simply adapted to this social environment change in their society (Brehm & Eisenhauer, 2006:406).

Based on McConkie and Boss's (2006) analysis of Mormon culture at present, it was observed that Mormons still observed the basic theological principles that Mormons of the early years (i.e., fundamentalist years) have practiced. That is, they still subsisted to the belief that "[t]he doctrine that God continues to speak, by revelation, to Apostles and Prophets in this day...An underlying doctrinal theme that men and women are agents of Deity..." (110). This passage illustrated that among Mormons, there is consensus that there is a need 'to change constantly,' because it is only through change that the church of Mormons can grow, which is the ultimate (even central) goal of the religious institution.