Encyclopedia of Opinion
Question
What do Christians believe?
Position‹5 of 7›
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Mormon Christians
Argument‹5 of 7›

LDS Politics and attitudes to equality

The LDS believes in the subservience of women to men within the traditional patriarchal system. Women are to be the primary caregivers, dress moderately, and submit to her husband's authority as he is the "head of the family."

The argument

The LDS is associated with very traditional family orientated beliefs in a firmly patriarchal system. They are firmly committed to traditional gender roles with women, who are expected to dress modestly and are always the primary caregiver. Texts from the Old Testament are quoted to justify a wife submitting to her husband’s authority in everything, from finances to where and when she worked. He was to be respected as head of the family, because this was “God’s plan.” Divorce is rarely recognised because they believe that a marriage is sealed in the temple and a civil divorce does not unseal that. Abortion is allowed only for rape, incest, if the life of health of the mother in jeopardy or baby has defects making it unlikely to live. The rules around these social issues have seen some progress, albeit at glacial speed.

Premises

[P1]The LDS Church upholds a patriarchal family structure in which wives are expected to submit to their husbands and serve as primary caregivers, grounded in scriptural appeals to God's plan. [P2] LDS teaching treats temple-sealed marriage as effectively indissoluble and permits abortion only in narrowly defined circumstances such as rape, incest, or threats to maternal or fetal life. [C] Therefore, LDS Christians believe in a traditional, patriarchal moral order that shapes their distinctive politics and attitudes toward gender and equality.

Counter-arguments

This description freezes LDS teaching at its most traditional and treats a diverse, changing community as uniform. Attitudes among Latter-day Saints vary widely by generation and country, many members hold egalitarian views, and the Church has revised its positions and emphasis on several fronts over time. Characterising an entire faith by its most conservative doctrines, stated as fixed rules, risks caricature rather than an accurate account of what LDS Christians actually believe and practise.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] Presenting patriarchal teaching as uniform and static ignores substantial internal diversity and change among Latter-day Saints.