The Atlantic
The Most American Religion
Mormons spent 200 years assimilating to a certain national ideal only to find their country in an identity crisis, McKay Coppins wrote in the January/February issue. What will the third century of the faith look like?
I’m a devout Episcopalian, but I spent many years dealing with an incomprehensible and not very subtle anti-Mormon bias. After I was named Mitt Romney’s chief of staff, in 2002, a church leader asked me how I could work for a heretic. And then there was so much anti-Mormonism on the presidential-campaign trail.
One of my earliest best friends was a Latter-day Saint, so Mormonism has never been a weird religion to me. Now, thanks to the Romneys and others, I love so much about the Church and how my LDS friends live their lives. I was truly moved by your writing. Defending Mormonism has been part of my own spiritual journey.