Wow...non-Mormons in Utah are one of America's most liberal demographics.

Where 0.75 = proportion of Utah voters who were Mormons, 19 = percentage of Mormons who voted for Obama, 34 = % of Utah voters who voted for Obama, 0.25 = proportion of Utah voters who were non-Mormons, and n = percentage of non-Mormons who voted for Obama.



0.75 * 19 + 0.25n = 34

14.25 + 0.25n = 34

0.25n = 34 - 14.25

0.25n = 19.75

n = 79

Thus, 79% of non-Mormons in Utah voted for Obama.

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/individual/#mapPUT

I think it's a reaction to the extreme conservativism all around us. We can see what conservatism hath wrought--intolerance and hatred.

It was something I was curious about because I was wondering how Salt Lake City often ends up with such left-leaning mayors.

Makes a lot of sense when you think about it. :shrug:

It's a damned shame about Utah. It's such a lovely place.

I see more and more Mormons leaving the church all the time. Once they leave, they tend to become liberals. The scales fall away from their eyes, so to speak. Maybe in 100 years, Utah will be the most liberal state in the union.

"surrounded by object lessons in the failure of 'family values' conservatism." Very well said.

Only really strong free-thinkers can survive in such an environment, imho.

You say:
and then you say:
It can't be both.

Sorry and thanks

I have a friend whose husband was transferred to SLC and she said she would have crawled across the desert on her knees carrying her furniture on her back to get out of there.The people were wonderful and kind until they learned they were not Mormon.That being said there are also some very nice folks who are Mormon in Utah but it is mostly the proselytizing that is so much part of that religion that makes living there not so wonderful for those not of their persuasion.

Hypocrisy is also pretty rampant in SLC. The Mormon kids are repressed so they are pretty wild. Liquor is strictly controlled so there are statistically a lot of alcoholics. My husband has some family in Utah and it is a very wacky place. SLC seems the most repressed to me. Other areas seem a bit more relaxed.Absolutely beautiful scenery.

It votes Democratic, opposes bans on equal marriage, and its past two mayors make some social democrats I know where I'm from look conservative. Maybe that leads to devout Mormons in Salt Lake City reacting to the progressivism by being nuttier than their co-religionists in the more conservative parts of the state.

Because they are quite repressed and just plain creepy.

really upscale area.I can't remember the name but it was in the hills.

I'm trying to think where that would be. (Geography is not my strong point.)

If it's an upscale area in the hills, then yeah, I totally believe that it's a repressed, Mormon hell-hole.

I wish I remembered the name if her neighborhood, but it was really crazy the way she was treated. it weas a really upsacle neighborhood and the kids kept breaking into my friends holuse because they knew they smoked and drank. they would party in their home when they were gone. The folks we met in SLC would not drink coffee, spoke scathingly of non mormons who drank(liquor) and Jack Mormons who did.the first time I went there I thought it was another world. The 3.5 beer and the state controlled package stores for liquor. Folks joining private clubs to drink. People tried to marry my husbands dead steomother after death to her divorced husband to seal her for life and she wasn't Mormon !Her daughter objected and they did it anyway.

But you don't have to go far from SLC or Sugarhouse to get into ulra-Mormon neighborhoods.

It does sound exactly like home, though.

My friend, who had the upscale house, hated the fact her husband was treated badly at work. He had to work the longer hours and didn't get days off and they outright told him it was because of his religion or, actually, his lack of it. I myself onve applied for a job with a SLC movie company and they asked if I was Mormon .I asked why and they said their "policy" was to hire only Mormons!It made an impression on me as I thought, and still do, that that was illegal.

If it's the one I'm thinking of, I can totally see them doing that. I'm pretty sure it's illegal.

Unfortunately, shit like that what your friend's husband faced at work is pretty standard in Utah. It sucks. My experience of Salt Lake City was that it was totally different from the rest of the state, but that's a subjective viewpoint, made by way of comparison. SLC is still influenced by Mormon culture. But I have friends there doing their best to subvert that. ;-) Also, the LDS church is headquartered in downtown Salt Lake and so are many of their businesses.

the traffic speeding on the state line from Utah is hysterical....they can't wait to get to the casinos.

Seriously? I lived in Salt Lake City and found it to be refreshingly open-minded, relaxed and liberal. Of course, that was SLC proper, the city that elected Rocky Anderson and Ralph Becker, not the suburbs. It's pretty bad out in the suburbs; it's just like Utah County. You could not pay me enough to live in West Jordan, for example.

I currently live in rural Utah, in a town of about 1400. This is the town I grew up in. This place makes Salt Lake look like San Fransisco. Still, it's home. It's safe, uncrowded and it's near some gorgeous outdoor recreation areas.

Edited to add: Yes, the discrimination is pretty bad. But you get used to it, especially if you've grown up here. At least I'm white and straight. A gay friend who grew up here told me recently that he was scared for his life when he lived here. That broke my heart.

I had no idea of the rep it has, sure would explain a lot.

Maybe my neighbor added to the rep-he was a hellion, shot one of my cats with a BB gun bc he was "trespassing" in their yard. The pellet lodged in his liver and wasn't able to be removed, so he didn't survive. I think he kicked my other cat in the face because the vet said the way his tooth was bent outwards was most likely from a human kick. Good Mormon boy, ended up going on a mission. Hope a pack of wild dogs pulled him off his bike in the backcountry.

I could go on and on...let's just say they don't do business with you unless you're listed in the "good book" Enormous gay population downtown however....downtown SLC rocks! and yes..they are sweet to you until they find they can't convert you. Sold my company to global corporation and made to merge with Utah branch..in same office and they still refused to work with us..giving work to competitors over us. And...stole my equipment. The good news is global corp went under and I bought company back and got the hell out of there. Will never forget how unethical and evil it was.

. . . about business in SLC. The blatant nepotism and outright employment discrimination is appalling. Corporate Utah is a scary proposition when it comes to business opportunities and/or keeping a job. :(

Yes, it's illegal, and yes... they do it anyway. The Mormons pretty much OWN corporate Utah.

TYY

as they don't report to temple what is being tithed LOL

... !!!!! Perfect descriptors for what goes on here. Especially in this economy. But truthfully, in every economy. It just happens to be more blatant now. Unapologetically so... :(

TYY

I lived in Utah for 8 years - Salt Lake has Less than 10 gay bars. San Francisco has that many just in South of Market.

... There are at least 8 gay bars within walking distance of 2nd South. The bartender at my favorite gay club complains that, anymore, there is a gay bar on every corner...

TYY

is pretty high. Everytime I go to a concert there and ask where I can get a drink... always get "gay or straight" ;-)

“It is the third largest gay city per capita in the West, after Los Angeles and San Francisco. Thirty-thousand come to our gay pride events"... http://www.zimbio.com/Religion+and+Gay+Marriage/articles/49/Mormons+under+siege+Prop+8+role (Thirty-thousand is a conservative estimate IMO.)

I've always heard that the Wasatch Front, (which includes Salt Lake City and spans approximately 80 miles from Ogden to Provo), is the third largest gay community in the United States. This alleged statistic has been in place since at least the late 1970's.

TYY

...We pretty much tolerate the Mormons at this point because they got here first.:D

TYY

but my parents and grandfather very Repub. except I think my mom leans a little more left, she just is used to male domination and not voicing much for herself. No wonder Utah appealed to them, lol.

Seriously, I think growing up there did influence my later leanings, and I sure felt like a minority. A great deal of subtle and not-so-subtle discrimination and a sense of being "less than" and "the other", my other non-Mormon friends and their parents noticed it too.

Just 'cause Brigham Young found it doesn't mean it belongs to the Mormons.

always makes me want to paint if I could....just inspiring. My fave photo I took is of Bhuddists in their orange robes reveling in the red and orange rock background.

for non-Mormons to be reactionary in their politics. I think of it more as a survival mechanism. If you look at SLC proper, it has a history of electing liberal mayors, even by national standards. It's the only community that has a predominantly non-Mormon population.

I know a number of people who live in Salt Lake City for that reason, pretty good career prospects too. I always ask about the mormons and they say they leave you alone because it never occurs to them you aren't also a mormon.

..., and you're correct that the Mormons assume that their co-workers are also Mormon. But, if they ever figure it out (ie: no wedding ring, no kids, no secret handshake), you're the first one to go in a layoff.

I love downtown Salt Lake City. The suburbs aren't for me. The mountains and skiing are nice.

TYY

According to Wikipedia, 58% of Utahns identify themselves as Mormon. So, 42% would not be considered Mormon.

Why would only 25% of Utah voters be non-Mormon if 42% of residents are non-Mormon?

A false premise typically does not lead to a correct conclusion.