Several years ago, some sociologists at UNC-Chapel Hill studied the spiritual beliefs held by American teenagers. They conducted thousands of interviews and used the term "Moralistic Therapeutic Deism" to tie together many of the common themes they discovered. One of the many beliefs they found to be common among the teens can be characterized as follows: "Yes, there is a God somewhere, and He wants us to be nice to each other, and we're nice to each other by not challenging each other's religious beliefs." In other words, God is different for everybody and it would be rude to say otherwise.
I think this kind of belief is related to the civil doctrine of political correctness. That is, it is uncivilized (bigoted? hateful?) to express religious beliefs if expressing those beliefs requires that we communicate (either directly or indirectly) that what other people believe is wrong.
But one of the basic principles of the LDS Church is that we should invite other people to learn about our church because it has more truth than any other church. To adhere to this basic principle - or to even say it out loud - violates both the teenage belief mentioned above and the doctrine of political correctness the belief is associated with. That means LDS people have to choose. What do we value more: avoiding offense at all costs, or adhering to one of the Church's basic principles?
George Albert Smith was the Church's prophet back around the turn of the 20th century, and I think he provided some helpful insight. He taught:
It is not the purpose of this Church to make statements that would hurt the feelings of those who do not understand things. This Church is not one that goes about criticising [sic] and finding fault with others, but in the spirit of loving kindness and the desire to be helpful, its representatives carry the Gospel message to the nations of the earth...As representatives of the Church we have the responsibility to go among them with love, as servants of the Lord, as representatives of the Master of heaven and earth.
But then he noted that
When it comes down to it - members of the LDS Church should follow President's G.A. Smith's teachings on how we express our beliefs: be Christlike, but know that no matter what, someone will be offended - and don't let that offense (even if it gets loud and unpleasant) change our attitude.
They may not altogether appreciate that; they may resent that as being egotistical and unfair, but that would not change my attitude. I am not going to make them unhappy if I can help it. I would like to make them happy, especially when I think of the marvelous opportunities that have come to me because of membership in this blessed Church.I think some people use the doctrine of political correctness to try and de-legitimize political activity that is motivated by religious belief. There are plenty of people who honestly believe that a viewpoint informed by religious conviction should not be expressed in civil society not necessarily because of the content of the viewpoint, but because it is informed by religious conviction. They'll often make arguments that end up sounding like: "we don't have any room in our tolerant, open-minded society for people who think the way you do." Well, I think our tolerant, open-minded society has plenty of room for people whose opinions are informed by religious conviction. And nothing about our constitutional order should be misconstrued to suggest, otherwise.
When it comes down to it - members of the LDS Church should follow President's G.A. Smith's teachings on how we express our beliefs: be Christlike, but know that no matter what, someone will be offended - and don't let that offense (even if it gets loud and unpleasant) change our attitude.
