Academic world training an eye on Mormonism

Scholars say one factor in the increase in Mormon studies is the rising number of Mormon children across the country, which has meant not enough openings for all of them at the church-run Brigham Young University, headquartered in Provo, Utah. The result is more Mormons attend non-Mormon universities, forcing those universities to reckon more directly with the 178-year-old faith, which today claims nearly 13 million adherents.

"I think it's safe to say that some combination of academic elitism and religious bigotry has delayed the development of Mormon studies," said Brian D. Birch, the director of the religious studies program at Utah Valley State College, which offers four courses in Mormon studies. "Some of this is due to the categorization of Mormonism as a cult and hence not worthy of serious attention. This is not surprising given the historical connection between American religious studies and Christian divinity and theological schools."

At Harvard, Proctor says her course, which will cover the basics of Mormon history, theology, culture, and sociology, has drawn a mix of Mormons and non-Mormons.

Proctor said she is uncertain where Mormon studies are heading. She has concerns, she said, about the possible "ghettoization" of scholars of Mormonism within academia. And, she said, among young Mormon scholars, "there is some residual concern from what has happened in recent memory," referring to the excommunications.

Students, at least at Harvard, appear to be interested. Proctor had to turn some away after enrollment reached the limit of 15.

"I'm interested in (Mormon) history as a very important part of American religious history — in a lot of ways representative of American religiosity, but also on the outskirts of it," said Max Mueller, a 28-year-old student in Proctor's class. Mueller, who described himself as a "loosely liberal Protestant," said he hopes to become a scholar of Mormonism.

"The scholarship is mostly done by insiders, and outsiders have only recently started to pay attention with something other than derision," he said. "There's some larger and overdue interest in Mormon scholarship done by outsiders, and I hope to be a part of that movement."

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