Mormonism news stories on Newser

Get Ready for Outrage Over Mormon Jokes

Matt Cantor — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 13:57:42 CDT

Mitt Romney is set to be the first Mormon to become a major presidential nominee—so it's inevitable that we'll be hearing a lot about his religion. And as conservatives coalesce around his candidacy, they'll want to make his Mormonism off-limits for attacks. That means that soon, "everyone who has...

Heretic Nation: At Last Our Candidates Fit

Mark Russell — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 14:01:41 CDT

In the 20th century, most US presidents and presidential candidates were Baptists, Episcopalians, Presbyterians—in other words, Protestants. But in the 2012 presidential race? With a Mormon, a traditionalist Catholic, and a nondenominational Christian with ties to liberation theology, "we finally have a presidential field whose diversity mirrors the diversity...

DNC Chair: Romney, GOP 'Rooting for' Economy to Tank

Polly Davis Doig — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 13:25:53 CDT

Debbie Wasserman Schultz blasted Mitt Romney and his fellow Republicans today for actively "rooting for economic failure" and narrow-mindedly focusing "on one job, Barack Obama's, for really the last two years." The DNC chair spoke this morning on CNN , saying that while the economy has been "making slow but steady...

Park Romney: Mormonism Is a Fraud

Mary Papenfuss — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 03:00:00 CDT

Not all Romneys are as enamored of Mormonism as Mitt. Take Park Romney, Mitt's cousin. He used to be a Mormon high priest, but finally left the religion. "I became convinced that it's a fraud," he tells the BBC . He doubts many aspects of the religion, such as founder Joseph...

Mormons Also Baptized Daniel Pearl

Evann Gastaldo — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 06:48:22 CST

The Mormon Church is already under fire for posthumously baptizing Anne Frank and the parents of Nazi-hunter Simon Wiesenthal , and now it turns out the church did the same thing to Daniel Pearl. The Wall Street Journal reporter, who was killed in Pakistan soon after 9/11, was baptized last year...

Marco Rubio Was Mormon for a Few Years

Evann Gastaldo — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 13:24:23 CST

Marco Rubio is seen by many as the GOP's frontrunner for the 2012 vice presidential nod—but that could change for the faction of the GOP that's ill at ease with the Mormon church. BuzzFeed reveals that the Florida senator was once a Mormon, having been baptized into the Church...

Mormons Baptize Anne Frank

Kevin Spak — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:52:05 CST

The Mormon Church last weekend appears to have once again baptized Anne Frank, defying an agreement with Jewish leaders to refrain from posthumously baptizing Jews in general and Holocaust figures in particular. Former Mormon Church member Helen Radkey discovered the baptism on a Mormons-only database used to chart genealogy and...

Mormons Baptized Parents of Nazi-Hunter Wiesenthal

Mary Papenfuss — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 06:41:00 CST

In a ritual that doesn't sit well with many, Mormons last month baptized the deceased parents of Nazi-hunter Simon Wiesenthal. Now they're sorry. Asher and Rosa Rapp Wiesenthal were baptized in proxy ceremonies by church members in Arizona and Utah, reports the BBC . "We are outraged that such insensitive actions...

Romney Keeps Touting Dad's Mexican Birth

Kevin Spak — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:23:29 CST

In an effort to win over Florida's wealth of Hispanic voters, Mitt Romney trotted out a little-mentioned piece of family history more than once this week. "My dad was born in Mexico," he often said, expressing sympathy for immigrants. "I wish I could claim that I'm Hispanic, and that would...