“Mitt Romney has opened doors. He has made Mormonism much more respectable,” says Charles Dunn, a professor at Regent University, and author of numerous books on politics and religion.
“He came out of this campaign as an honourable person, and that bodes well. He is the best missionary Mormons could have.”
At the headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the official name of the Mormon Church) in Salt Lake City, Utah, there appears to be a similar mood of optimism. Although they have not given figures on whether membership numbers are up, enquiries certainly are. Mormons make up about 2% of Americans, but numbers are rising steadily.
I’m not so sure the outlook is good for the Mormon image. Mitt Romney was effectively demonized by the Obama campaign, and the remaining nationally prominent Mormon is the Senate Majority Leader, who slandered Mr. Romney during the campaign.