Forum kicks off Rocky's religious 'bridge'

Ninety percent of LDS Church-goers said the LDS Church doesn't assert much power in state and local government. In contrast, roughly 65 percent of non-LDS Church members said the LDS Church asserts too much power in local and state government.

In Salt Lake, around 90 percent of the Legislature membership belongs to the LDS Church and at least six of seven City Council members are LDS.

When asked about claims that LDS Church members tend not to associate with non-members, 76 percent of LDS Church members said it probably or definitely wasn't a factor in shaping a rift. By comparison, roughly 65 percent of non-LDS Church members said it was a factor.

Despite the polls, Seed said she thinks that if the LDS and non-LDS community will sit down and talk they will find they have more in common than not.

"It's important not to make assumptions. We're hearing the rhetoric about the divide and the question is how real is it?" Seed said. "We have the feeling that when you sit people down to talk with each other the divide disappears to a large extent, because we're all human beings."

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