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SALT LAKE CITY -- Presidential candidate Mitt Romney is featured on the cover of Newsweek magazine in a satirical depiction.
The magazine shows Romney's head on the body of a dancing missionary from the controversial Broadway musical "Book of Mormon." The description for the story says, "They've conquered Broadway, talk radio, the U.S. Senate--and they may win the White House. Why Mitt Romney and 6 million Mormons have the secret to success."
Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman and other high-profile LDS politicians would really do their faith a lot of favors if they were willing to step up and say, 'Yes, this is my religion ...'
–McKay Coppins, Newsweek reporter
#coppins_q
One of the Newsweek reporters, McKay Coppins, a Latter-day Saint, says Americans still want to know more.
"Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman and other high-profile LDS politicians would really do their faith a lot of favors if they were willing to step up and say, 'Yes, this is my religion; yes, this is what I believe; and yes, it makes me who I am," Coppins said Monday.
Nearly four years ago, Romney addressed faith; and recently, Huntsman did so. Political scientists say perception has changed a bit, but not much.
"There are people in this country, people who potentially will be Republican Party delegates, who have real questions about whether or not Mormons are real Christians," says University of Utah political science professor Tim Chambless. "Public opinion polls range from 34 percent to 39 percent of Republicans who indicate that, as evangelicals, they will not vote for a Mormon for president."
From LDS "Twilight" author Stephenie Meyer to radio talk show host Glenn Beck, historians say popularity does not necessarily translate into acceptance.
There has always been tension between Mormonism and mainstream America. It's ebbed and flowed over time, and it continues to ebb and flow.
–Paul Reeve, University of Utah historian
#reeve_q
"There has always been tension between Mormonism and mainstream America," says University of Utah historian Paul Reeve. "It's ebbed and flowed over time, and it continues to ebb and flow. This is just another moment in the broader historical trend."
"It says a lot about Mormonism, that it is being discussed in both serious national magazines and being lampooned on Broadway. I think it's a good thing for the Church, really," Coppins said.
Utah State University political science professor Michael Lyons says this form of satire is recognition of Mormons moving into the mainstream.
"The rest of the country is welcoming Mormons in and they're going to have to deal with the consequences of that," he said. "To be subjected to this kind of satire is something that everyone who lives in the mainstream contends with all the time."
Meanwhile, Coppins says with Mormonism in the national spotlight, Newsweek editors asked him to be one of the reporters. Everyone was respectful, he said, and his colleagues now refer to him as a "Latter-day Saint Wikipedia."
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Written with contributions from Carole Mikita and Andrew Adams.
