A Religious Bigot Decries Racial Bigotry
Janet Langhart Cohen flagrantly displayed to all the world her own sin of bigotry. On the Today Show when asked her opinions on the current presidential candidates, Mrs. Cohen the wife of former Secretary of Defense William Cohen, immediately brought up the Mormon faith of Mitt Romney, claiming that up until 1978, her own interracial marriage, would have been condemned as a sin by the Mormons. Did she offer any documentation of the Latter-day Saint Church calling any such marriages a sin? NO!
Janet Langhart Cohen was giving her impression of Mitt Romney, and the only criticism she could find was his religion. “I hate to talk about anybody’s faith, but if you understand the Mormon faith, up until 1978 an interracial marriage, the Mormons would have considered a sin…They would have considered me as an African America cursed, that God didn’t hear my prayers.” (KSL.com)
Mrs. Cohen neglected to state the truth of the matter, that interracial marriages were illegal against the statutes of more than thirty states in the United States of America at that time, including the state of Utah. However, Mrs. Cohen invented fictitious history by claiming that Mormons considered it sinful and that Romney’s church believed that God did not listen to the prayers of African Americans.
Mrs. Cohen’s statement should be extremely offensive to any American of faith. Mormons have always believed, as do all Christian religions, that God listens to everyone, without regard to race, gender or national origin. Where did Mrs. Cohen develop such a bigoted attitude towards one particular American religion? The Mormons should offer to educate Janet Cohen and help her overcome her ignorance and bigotry. She hates “to talk about anybody’s faith,” but then she does, slandering millions of adherents to that faith, and condemning a genuine American running for political office solely because of his religion.
“Fear of Mormons” is UnAmerican!
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I think it is interesting that you have such a strong opinion on Mrs Cohens comments concerning the Mormon Church. She was actually accurate in her explanation about the Mormon Church. It was a belief that Blacks had been cursed and that they were less valiant in the pre-life, there for they were unworthy of all of the blessings that whites received. I agree with you that there were some 30 or so other states that had laws on the books that it was against the law for blacks to marry outside of their race. it was “state law”. However she said in the Mormon religion we would not have been able to be married (a true statement). To my knowledge there were no other religions that felt as strongly about blacks as the Mormons.
Here are some of the quotes form Mormon leaders about BLACK people during that time:
Mormon authorities have always been very opposed to interracial marriage between black and white. Notice this article printed in the Mormon publication Juvenile Instructor, “We do not believe in the permanency of a race descended from people so wide apart as the Anglo-Saxon and Negro. In fact we believe it to be a great SIN in the eyes of our Heavenly Father for a white person to marry a black one. And further, that it is a proof of the mercy of God that no such race appear able to continue for many generations.”
According to Mormon Apostle Mark E. Peterson, “We must not intermarry with the Negro, Why? If I were to marry a Negro woman and have children by her, my children would ALL BE CURSED AS TO THE PRIESTHOOD. If there is one drop of Negro blood in my children, as I have read to you, they receive the curse.”
So evil was the mixture of the two races in the mind of Brigham Young that he declared his concept of God’s law. Notice that the law is for all time. “Shall I tell you the law of God in regard to the African race? If the white man who belongs to the chosen seed mixes his blood with the seed of Cain, the penalty, under the law of God, is death on the spot. This will always be so.”
Comment by Tonya — March 11, 2007 @ 10:42 pm
I stand by my statement that Mrs. Cohen was exemplifying Mormon bigotry. The past racial bigotry of American churches, including the Mormon church, towards black citizens is not at issue in this topic. I am speaking of religious bigotry towards one particular religion in today’s political scene. Mrs. Cohen’s comments about Mitt Romney displayed that. She did not criticize his stand on abortion or his qualifications for office, but immediately condemned him for his religion.
Comment by Kerfuffles — March 13, 2007 @ 5:49 pm
I understand what an admirable possition you are taking north america has experienced unpresidented freedoms collectivly as a result [for one example]of an intolerence for a public religious hack at any indavidual .However that is just the kind of cover the mormon religion loves to hide behind . Don’t think for one momment that any and all non mormons are treated with the same respect within the mormon organization because they are not .The only difference is their hacks at non mormons is done inthe privacy of their stake houses[thats what they call their churches],temples and any such office of authority they happen to have taken controle of including PUBLIC SCHOOLS and so forth.by stating that a polotician is a mormon Mrs. cohan simply avoided wasting her valuable time on indavidual aspects of this poloticians platform because she probably knows this man [or any mormon man in this mans position]is sadly but surly nothing but a puppet put to work by his church.Rest assured whatever position the mormon church takes on subjects such as abortion for instance will be the possition any mormon politican will promote as well. He is his sole duty to do as the church tells him to do or he looses all his rights to go to heaven and his family as well.Reserch this yourself for your own good.Perhalps you could look under wolves dressed in sheeps cloathing.D
Comment by dee neuberger — March 14, 2007 @ 3:19 pm
So you are saying that Senator Harry REID, a devout Mormon, who is also Senate Majority Leader of the United States Senate, is but a puppet in the hands of his Church?
However, … if you are implying that Senator Harry REID is but a “wolf dressed in sheep’s clothing”, I will absolutely agree with you, but it has nothing to do with his Mormon faith.
Comment by Kerfuffles — March 17, 2007 @ 1:51 pm
>She did not criticize his stand on abortion or his qualifications for office, but immediately condemned him for his religion.
She questioned his beliefs. So what? It’s something that needs to be critically analysed. How will his beliefs affect the way he makes decisions? How will the hierarchy of the LDS church be able to influence him? The intricacies of his religion are more than relevant and what she said about that particular religion is correct.
If a presidential candidate believed heavily in astrology and tarot we’d all sure as hell want to know about it and we’d want to know how these unevidenced, unfounded and largely debunked beliefs were going to influence his/her decisions in office. Why should a religion be given a free ride in the same situation?
Comment by Jimbo — October 30, 2007 @ 11:03 am
In our American culture, it is UNAMERICAN to condemn others for their religious beliefs or for their lack of religious beliefs. We are the land where the world’s religious dissenters found refuge from persecution, and we continue to honor that unwritten commitment to such freedom of thought.
Having said that, in the secrecy of the voting booth, the voter has complete freedom to cast his/her vote against Mormons, Jews, Catholics, women, blacks, Hispanics or members of the Ku Klux Klan. In fact, I wish a few more of them would vote against the Klan.
Comment by Kerfuffles — October 30, 2007 @ 12:27 pm