6PM: 51% of Utahns believe LDS Church has 'right amount of influence' on Legislature

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SALT LAKE CITY — A new poll found that some Utahns believe LDS Church leaders have an influence in how the Utah Legislature operates.

The poll, which was conducted by Dan Jones & Associates for UtahPolicy, found that 51 percent of polled Utahns believe the LDS Church has “the right amount of influence” in the Legislature, while 34 percent said the church has “too much influence.” Another 10 percent of respondents said the LDS Church’s influence on the legislature was “too little.”

UtahPolicy conducted the poll after questions arose about the church’s lobbying effort at the conclusion of the latest legislative session.

“UtahPolicy and Jones decided to measure the public’s opinion on the church’s influence in the 104-member, part-time Legislature, whose members are around 80 percent faithful members of the Mormon Church — with a number of legislators having served in the church’s lay leadership positions, like bishops and women’s auxiliaries.”

The LDS Church said there are several issues relating to the doctrines of the church that it “actively engages” in, but that the position it takes is of public note and posted to its website.

The church actively engages in the political process on a handful of issues — particularly when legislation involves moral issues or impact the doctrines or practices of the church. Recent positions on immigration and religious freedom are good examples. In such instances, church lobbyists may interfere directly with political leaders to represent the church's views. –Eric Hawkins

“The church actively engages in the political process on a handful of issues — particularly when legislation involves moral issues or impact the doctrines or practices of the church,” church spokesman Eric Hawkins said. “Recent positions on immigration and religious freedom are good examples. In such instances, church lobbyists may interfere directly with political leaders to represent the church’s views.

“Sometimes these positions are received with broad agreement and sometimes they are not,” Hawkins added. “As the church has asserted before, elected officials who are Latter-day Saints make their own decisions and may not necessarily be in agreement with one another or even with a publicly stated church position.”

The poll found that among Republican respondents, 67 percent said the church’s influence was “about the right amount,” 15 percent said it was “too much,” and another 13 percent said it was “too little.” Among Democratic respondents, 70 percent said the church had “too much influence,” 22 said “about right,” and another 5 percent said “too little.”

The following is a breakdown of some of Jones’ findings:

Political independents: 48 percent said too much influence; 40 percent said about right; 8 percent said too little; 5 percent didn’t know.

Among those who said they are “very active” members of the LDS Church: 5 percent said too much influence; 73 percent said about right; 15 percent said too little influence; 7 percent didn’t know.

Among those who said they are “somewhat active” in the LDS Church: 26 percent said too much influence; 54 percent said about right; 16 percent said too little; and 4 percent didn’t know.

Related:

LDS membership highest indicator for Republican affiliation, study says If you're a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the odds that you affiliate with the Republican Party are rather high, according to a new study.

Among those who said they are “no longer active” in their LDS Church: 49 percent said the church has too much influence; 38 percent said about right amount of influence; 7 percent said too little influence; and 5 percent didn’t now. Among Catholics: 79 percent said too much influence; 18 percent said about right; 0 percent said too little influence; 3 percent didn’t know. Among Protestants: 84 percent said too much influence; 16 percent said about right; 0 percent said too little influence; and 0 percent didn’t know. Among those who said they belong to some other religion not specifically listed by Jones: 85 percent said the LDS Church has too much influence in the Legislature; 9 percent said about right; 3 percent said too little influence, and 3 percent didn’t know. Among Utahns who said they have no religion: 80 percent said the LDS Church has too much influence in the Legislature; 17 percent said about right; 0 percent said too little influence; and 3 percent didn’t know. Jones polled 601 registered voters. A breakdown of voters — Republican, Democrat, “somewhat active,” etc. — can be viewed below. The poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 4 percent.

Total Political Party Count % Republican Democrat Independent Other Count % Count % Count % Count % Sample Size 601 - 294 - 96 - 168 - 41 - Too much 207 34% 44 15% 67 70% 80 48% 16 39% Right amount 304 51% 197 67% 21 22% 67 40% 20 47% Not enough 60 10% 37 13% 5 5% 14 8% 4 10% Don't know 30 5% 16 6% 4 4% 8 5% 2 4% Religion LDS (Very Active) LDS (Somewhat Active) LDS (Not Active) Catholic Protestant Other None Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Sample Size 310 - 50 - 37 - 34 - 19 - 63 - 73 - Too much 17 5% 13 26% 18 49% 26 79% 16 84% 54 85% 58 80% Right amount 228 73% 27 54% 14 38% 6 18% 3 16% 6 9% 12 17% Not enough 45 15% 8 16% 3 7% 0 0% 0 0% 2 3% 0 0% Don't know 21 7% 2 4% 2 5% 1 3% 0 0% 2 3% 2 3% Poll credit: UtahPolicy/Dan Jones & Associates

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