[pp. 121–123]

The positive-consistent response pattern is illustrated by the reaction of a member of the non-Mormon church elite when asked if he understood the policy of the L.D.S. church with regard to the Negro.

The church teaches that Negroes aren't men and that's why they can't hold the priesthood, God is no respector of persons, and no church ought to be.

Asked if he felt the civil rights movement would affect L.D.S. church policy he stated,

I don't think they can ignore this trend any longer. . . guys like George Romney are going to be faced with the question of whether they can stay loyal to the church.

The interpenetration of sacred and secular norms in this leader's perspective are quite apparent.

The negative-consistent response is illustrated in the reaction of a Mormon church leader, Asked what issues he considered most important in race relations, he responded,

You shouldn't be forced to do business with any group that aren't behaving appropriately, I believe in equality, but this has to come gradually. I can understand how the people in the South react as they do. Educated Negroes are wonderful people. They've got to learn to earn their place in society.

Asked about the relation between Mormon church Negro policy and race relations in civil affairs, he replied,

I think it involves intermarriage, and we've got to fight that to the bitter end. The civil rights leaders want to have intermarriage.

Although inconsistent responses are less prevalent, there are many individuals who express varying degrees of inconsistency, Positive-negative inconsistency is often the response of the leader who continues to hold church office or otherwise identifies strongly with the Mormon religion, even though he favors civil rights. This type of response is expressed by a leader who has actively worked for civil rights in committees and personal contacts with governmental leaders. However, when asked about the position of the Negro in the church, he replied,

They can go further than in any other church. I'll leave the priesthood issue to President McKay, .

Asked about the relationship between church policy and civil rights, he stated,

Oh, they make a lot of fuss about it, but there's not much effect, Negroes can do most anything they want. . . . I hope the membership of the church will be broad-minded enough to eliminate prejudice, but I'll leave the policy to David 0. McKay.

The fourth category, negative-positive inconsistency, is very interesting from the standpoint of possible motivation. In the cases at hand, it seems to involve a moral concern for a rather distant institution, the Mormon church, among individuals whose occupational roles make civil rights threatening, For example, a member of the medical elite took the following position concerning public accommodations,

I don't think that should be legislated. Owners should have the right to decide. . . . I'm opposed to sections that say businessmen can be forced to admit people to their establishments . . . [this] interferes with personal rights.

But, on the subject of the Mormon church policy, he comments, I think it will , change. If Rommey ever expects to run for president, they'll have to change. . . . I feel if anyone is really qualified for anything, regardless of color or race, they should be accepted. Actually, I shouldn't be giving advice on this, since I'm not a Mormon.

Another interesting incongruity is that this individual favors an ultimate solution in terms of

. . . gradual mixing of the races. [I] don't think it can be met any other way. . . . There's no way to prevent it, Intermarriages are common now--doesn't bother me anymore. Eventually there will be a mixing of all the races, I think.

[pp. 160–162]

CHAPTER VIII

SUMMARY

The purpose of this research has been to investigate Utah's unique racial norms, in terms of their origin, their present status, and their probable future. As events in the modern world have brought greater awareness of the disprivilege often associated with non-Caucasian status, the Utah situation has become significant for two reasons: (1) Before 1964, the year this study began, Utah was the only "Northern" state without civil rights legislation. (2) The Mormon church, which prevails in Utah, does not accord religious equality to Negroes,

Since the understanding of these conditions requires a knowledge of their origin, some historical data were presented and discussed. Special attention was given to the race concept in Mormon scripture and a compromise prompted by racial conditions in Missouri. The view was expressed that norms institutionalized in Utah were made possible by these earlier events.

Abolitionism was ridiculed in early Utah, and some slavery was practiced. The church policy restricting Negroes from the priesthood was apparently established in early Utah history. After slavery was abolished, race did not again become a major issue until the civil rights movement following World War II.

It was theorized, when this study began in early 1964, that religious and secular racial restrictions were mutually supportive, but that a liberalization of secular norms (creation of civil rights laws) would be more likely than liberalization of religious norms (elimination of the Mormon church policy restricting Negroes).

Since norms are controlled from positions of institutionalized power, members of the institutional elites were identified. These included decision makers (members of the Utah governmental elite and the Mormon church elite), and influentials (members of the non-Mormon church elite, the academic elite, the economic elite, the medical elite, and the legal elite). Altogether, eighty-two members were identified. Sixty-six were interviewed, and their responses were rated numerically by experts, for statistical treatment.

It was found, as predicted, that the two kinds of perspectives, favorability toward civil rights and favorability toward liberalizing church policy, were positively related. Likewise, the prediction that governmental decision makers would express more liberal perspectives than Mormon church decision makers was upheld. Also supported by statistics was the prediction that influential leaders would perceive governmental decision makers as more accessible than Mormon church decision makers. However, the view that liberals would perceive proportionately greater accessibility to governmental decision makers was not supported by the data.

Representative quotations from interviews were presented anonymously, to illustrate the tendencies that had occurred, and to help explain the statistical findings. Interview data seemed to suggest that liberals were likely to have disproportionate influence upon governmental decision makers, even if, as statistics indicated, their perceived accessibility to governmental decision makers was not disproportionate.

Further considerations included a discussion of the bills actually passing in the 1964 legislature; their occurrence, though more rapid than expected, tended toward the fulfillment of predictions.

Finally, the likelihood of further normative change was discussed. Prominent in this discussion were (1) certain aspects of racial awareness in the Utah culture, including the fear of intermarriage, (2) parallels between the polygamy crisis of early Mormon church history and conditions surrounding the church's Negro policy today, and (3) the tendency for the doctrine of continued revelation to function for policy defense, rather than policy innovation.

It was concluded that restrictive church policy was likely to persist for many years, but that more civil rights legislation might occur, especially if federal pressure made it seem expedient.

Some possibilities regarding the role of Utah elites in eventual liberalization were also discussed.