A new poll released last week indicates members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints generally approve of President Barack Obama’s performance, but much less so than members of other religious groups.

The poll, conducted by Gallup, pegs the president’s approval among Latter-day Saints at 45 percent, with 40 percent disapproving. This level of support is significantly lower than Obama receives from the poll’s other religious groups.

Muslims offer Obama his highest approval ratings, with 85 percent of respondents indicating support for his job performance. Similarly, Jews and Catholics also generally approve of the president, polling at 79 percent and 67 percent, respectively.

Ken Stiles, a BYU political science professor, said he believes the lack of support among LDS Church members stems from a general distrust of government.

“Mormons are generally conservative on social and economic issues,” Stiles said. “At the same time, Mormons often view any government intervention — even well-intentioned — with skepticism. The net result is general opposition to a president who is liberal on most social and economic policies and views government activism favorably.”

Even though they provide the president with his lowest approval rating, more Latter-day Saints approve of Obama’s performance than disapprove. Stiles said he believes some support may be more directly attributed to the president’s personal characteristics than his policies.

“It’s possible that his exemplary family has won over a few who see him as a potential role model,” he said.

Adam Brown, a BYU political science professor, said he finds Latter-day Saints’ net approval of Obama noteworthy.

“Is it any surprise that Mormons, who lean Republican by a wide margin, would have the lowest approval of Obama?” Brown said. “What’s remarkable about the Gallup results isn’t that ‘only’ 45 percent of Mormons approve of Obama, but rather that an overwhelmingly right-leaning bloc gives him a net positive approval rating.”

Though such numbers may be uncharacteristically high for a Democrat among Latter-day Saints, Richard Davis, a BYU professor and chairman of the Utah County Democratic Party, said the positive rating should be expected considering recent survey results.

“A recent [Deseret News/KSL-TV] poll showed that 53 percent of Utahns approved of the job the president was doing. Obviously, many of those people would be active LDS Church members,” Davis said. “The reality is the president is doing a good job handling a difficult economic crisis he inherited, as well as drawing down U.S. involvement in an unpopular war in Iraq started by the previous administration.”

Not all Latter-day Saints, however, share Davis’ positive evaluation of Obama’s performance.

Mike Squires, incoming chairman of the BYU College Republicans, said he believes the president is leading the country in the wrong direction.

“As a conservative, I do not believe that his policies are good for the country. In fact, they are counter-productive,” he said. “A large government has only led to more problems. President Obama is leading this country into ridiculous amounts of debt, unseen governmental intrusion, and many more things that will only lead to greater government in every aspect of our lives.”

Several prominent Latter-day Saints, including former presidential candidate Mitt Romney and conservative commentator Glenn Beck, have echoed Squires’ sentiments. Beck, who joined the Church in 1999, has become an increasingly high-profile opponent of the Obama administration, occasionally expressing his criticism in religious language.

“The government is acting in the role of Lucifer,” Beck said on his syndicated radio program last Tuesday. “They are taking stuff from you. They are forcing you — yes; I did just say the government is the devil. They are taking your choices from you.”

Other Church members disagree with Beck’s assessment of the president.

“I think Obama and his family embody many basic virtues in their personal lives and conduct,” Stiles said. “He demonstrates that self-help, self-control, integrity, and devotion to society and to family are paramount and can pay off in a big way. In this respect, he is a missionary for many basic gospel principles.”

The Gallup poll results are based on telephone interviews with 99,494 adults nationwide and have a margin of sampling error of 0.5 percent.

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Copyright Brigham Young University 10 May 2009