How Mormonism Sees the World
A Wayfare Forum
As part of the ongoing How to Think Politically series, Wayfare Magazine is pleased to host Nate Oman’s essay of popular philosophy “The Disposition of Mormonism” together with a forum of brief responses from signal thinkers such as Peter Conti-Brown (University of Pennsylvania), Greer Cordner (Boston), Samuel Moyn (Yale), Katharina Paxman (BYU), John Durham Peters (Yale), and Joseph Spencer (BYU).
In brief, Oman argues that, because it treats religious faith and forms as precious inheritances from the past, the Latter-day Saint faith tradition is conservative in disposition, in contrast to liberal or progressive dispositions. While Oman takes pains to distinguish between disposition and political orientation, his framing permits interesting political interpretations at a time in contemporary US politics that warrants critical conversations about Mormonism as a political force. It is perhaps fitting that today, May 1, is also International Workers Day.
The following forum aims to spark such conversation with generous critique.
Table of Contents
Nate Oman, Rita Anne Rollins Professor of Law at William & Mary
Responses:
Peter Conti-Brown, Class of 1965 Associate Professor of Financial Regulation, Associate Professor of Legal Studies & Business Ethics at the University of Pennsylvania
Greer Cordner, Doctoral Student in History and Hermeneutics at Boston University
Samuel Moyn, the Kent Professor of Law and History at Yale University
Katharina Paxman, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Brigham Young University
John Durham Peters, Maria Rosa Menocal Professor of English and of Film and Media Studies at Yale University
Joseph Spencer, Associate Professor of Ancient Scripture at Brigham Young University
Art by Helen Frankenthaler (1928-2011).