| Description |
During the first half of the twentieth century, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints came to be seen as the quintessential American faith. Such an evaluation represented a rather remarkable reversal for a religion shortly before deemed a treasonous threat to the country. Scholars traditionally have assumed this extraordinary overhaul required complete capitulation. To ensure continued survival in the face of persistent pressure from federal officials, the church changed its course from resistance to accommodation. In the process, Latter-day Saints surrendered beliefs and behaviors deemed incompatible with national norms. As they altered their identity and backed away from previous positions, characteristics that had defined them as dissidents for decades disappeared. At the same time, they became nearly indistinguishable from members of other denominations, merging into the mainstream. Known as the Americanization thesis, this theory posits the religion remade itself at the turn of the twentieth century. A central tenet of this hypothesis, the faith only achieved acceptance as it conformed to the culture of the surrounding society. This dissertation challenges the standard interpretation, tracing the trajectory of Latter-day Saint thought as it relates to four central themes: politics, economics, science, and race. After analyzing each of these topics to determine the thoroughness of transformation, this work concludes that the church demonstrated considerable continuity of key concepts and core commitments. It further asserts that supposed similarities in beliefs between the faith and their fellow Americans were mostly iv superficial. While ostensibly Latter-day Saints looked to adopt the perspective of their peers, they only made minimal modifications to their views and values. Instead, what becomes clear is the persistence of earlier ideas. Contrary to common perception, evidence suggests Latter-day Saints never came to espouse essentially American attitudes or share the convictions of their compatriots, implying the extent of Americanization has been greatly exaggerated. |
