As a prominent land owner in downtown SLC they can certainly throw their weight around when they want something (a closed road, a downtown walking easement), but they tried very hard to avoid even the appearance of meddling in state politics. Many politicians are/were members, in both parties.
So “theocracy”? No, not in any meaning of the word that approaches its actual meaning.
That’s interesting, I was just reading that there’s a Mormon supermajority (86%) in Utah’s congress and LDS members make up 60% of the population there. That doesn’t affect policy at all?
“Majority” and “theocracy” are different things.
www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcn...
So the supermajority doesn’t affect policy at all?
You’re the one that said it was a theocracy. If you’ve changed your mind and believe it’s instead tyranny of the majority, great, but that’s a different argument.
Allow me to frame it slightly differently. Accusing officials of being controlled by another entity, whether a church or the U.N. (was accused several times of the latter, b/c people believe conspiracies) is an accusation of a lack of ethics. It cuts differently than an accusation of partisanship.
It's definitely a theocracy when the supermajority are all pushing the same religious agenda. Are you a Mormon and that's why you are fighting so hard? And JD Vance isn't really a Catholic.
I mean, if their political leadership is based entirely on their religion, how is it not theocracy?
The definition of theocracy is control of politics by a religion. You’ve not connected “has a (super) majority” with “leadership is based on their religion” or “is controlled by religion” (also different things).
A particular religious group controls politics in Utah because they believe that the law of the land should be dictated by their faith. That’s a theocracy. It’s also tyranny of the majority. Both can be true.
“They believe the law of the land should be dictated by their faith” was generally not my experience. Abortion laws are stricter in (e.g.), IN or TX. Currently, public education & trans rights is worse in OK, WY, etc. UT’s liquor laws are odd, but so is PA, MA, etc. www.hrc.org/resources/st...
None of this to say that is a bastion of liberal thought (ha!), or to say the church doesn’t influence the culture there, but the political environment is driven more by the Republican Party’s super majority than anything else.