Mormons rate at bottom in approval of Obama's job performance

SALT LAKE CITY — A new poll shows that President Barack Obama's approval among Mormons continues to be the lowest among the country's major religious groups.

The Gallup poll, released Friday, shows 24 percent of Mormons approve of the president's job from January through July 2010.

The highest approval during that time period came from Muslims, 78 percent. (The poll was conducted before the current questions about the proposed Islamic cultural center near ground zero.)

Overall, approval for the president among all religious groups has dropped.

The poll was conducted by telephone between Jan. 21, 2009, and July 31, 2010. A random sample of 276,173 adults in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., were contacted, including 4,672 Mormons. The margin of error is plus or minus 1 percent.

The poll's results came as no surprise to Utah political observers.

Most Mormons identify themselves as conservatives, said Kirk Jowers, director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah.

"They identify with issues considered more Republican-dominated — smaller government, traditional family values, a bigger role for religion in public affairs," Jowers said, "Democrats are typically not seen as being in line with those values."

Since most Mormons are conservative, and many are registered Republicans, any Democrat has an "uphill climb for approval ratings among Mormons," Jowers said. But feelings toward Obama's job as president might be more intense than other Democrats.

"There's really a feeling that he has turned to larger government programs that fundamentally change American society, and that's alarming to Mormons, and evidentially, most groups."

Although conservatives perceive Obama as a left of center politician, Jowers notes that many liberals feel let down by the president. For instance, he hasn't lived up to campaign promises such as nationwide marriage equality for gay couples.

"There's a perception and an expectation that Obama would have been far more liberal on social issues," Jowers said.

Mormons had historically been more pluralistic politically, but more flocked to the Republican Party after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortions. LDS Church President Ezra Taft Benson had served as agriculture secretary under President Dwight D. Eisenhower, which may have inspired church members to become Republicans, Jowers said.

While The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has taken positions on issues facing the United States, it is not partisan and has encouraged its members to vote for candidates who speak to them, regardless of party.

Joe Vogel, a Mormon who edited "The Obama Movement: Why Barack Obama Speaks to America's Youth," believes that Mormons can relate to Obama.

"In our doctrines and in our scriptures, we believe in taking care of each other," he said. "So you'd think issues like health care, like education, like social justice and equality, such as taking care of the poor, you'd think those principles would make at least some Mormons Democrats. More Mormons Democrats than there are now."

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