Mormon Temple in San Diego[/caption]Joel S. Hirschhorn--When John F. Kennedy ran for President, his Catholic religion became an issue during the campaign, specifically whether he would impose his beliefs on others. While many people would consider religious bias unfair, nevertheless one’s beliefs are often represented as the core of an individual’s values and therefore a platform for questions when a key leadership position is proposed, such as President of the United States.
Mitt Romney is a senior, influential member of the Mormon Church, a religious group with many positive values that are often referenced by those who believe in the importance of family, community and faith. The values of hard work, loyalty to one’s family and taking care of one’s own represent core beliefs in the Mormon Church and seen by many as a strong foundation for leadership and a model for Christian life. But there are practices that are unique to Mormonism that may not be viewed as favorable to the larger community, and, in fact, have been upsetting to many people. One of these is proxy baptism.
In a nutshell, proxy baptism refers to the Mormon practice of baptizing a living person on behalf of someone who is dead and was not a member of the Mormon Church. The goal is to get that non-Mormon person into Mormon-defined heaven, which is totally different than what all other religions think of as heaven. The dead person nor anyone related to the dead person does not necessarily give permission or express any desire to be so baptized.
Standing in for dead people are young Mormon men and women dressed in white robes in Mormon temple ceremonies worldwide, which is considered an honor for them.
Over time many people who are not Mormons have mounted attacks on this practice, viewing the Mormon practice as a serious invasion of their lives and beliefs. One of these critics is Nobel-laureate Holocaust survivor, Elie Wiesel, who is a top official from the Simon Wiesenthal Center. He has focused on the Mormon practice of posthumously baptizing Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Despite his attempts to stop Mormons doing this and despite promises they would, the practice has continued.
It may be reasonable to ask Romney to declare in clear, unambiguous language whether he has participated in such proxy baptisms, whether he believes that this practice is appropriate, and whether or not he understands why non-Mormons would object to this practice.
Would Americans resent a US President that supports Mormon proxy baptizing? Many certainly would if they knew about the practice and what it represents.
Officially, the Mormon Church has refused to abandon this practice. “With deepest respect to our Jewish friends, the church cannot abandon fundamental aspects of its religious doctrine and practice,” the church says on its website, “and it should not be asked to do so.” Many millions of non-Mormons have apparently been proxy baptized, including famous people: Adolph Hitler, Christopher Columbus, most signers of the US Declaration of Independence, Paul Revere, William Shakespeare, Golda Meir, Albert Einstein, President Obama’s mother and Irving Berlin, for example. There is no attempt by the church to document that non-Mormons had expressed any desire to be baptized into the Mormon faith. And the church attempts to limit proxy baptizing to a member’s or family member’s ancestors apparently have failed.
Interestingly, those in the Hindu faith have said that Hindu feelings would naturally be hurt if their ancestors were baptized without their will. Similarly, the Catholic Church has also publicly objected to the Mormon baptism of its members.
US Senate Democrat Majority Leader Harry Reid is also a Mormon, so the question posed to Romney, a Republican, is reasonable to ask Senator Reid as well because the practice of proxy baptism is imposed on non-Mormons. It would be helpful to know whether elected officials endorse it.
In sum, the central issue regarding proxy baptism is respect for individual beliefs and practices for non-Mormons and their religious communities, to include those who are atheists as well as members of other religions and Christians of various views. The question of proxy baptism goes to the heart of respecting people of all faiths and is therefore a reasonable and important question to ask of those whose job is to govern others.
