The Pentagon’s recent revision to its list of Christian religions has sparked a debate on the Mormon church’s Christian identity. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, widely known as the Mormon church, has nearly 18 million members worldwide, with the highest concentration in Utah.

Defining Christianity

Most Christian faiths believe God is spirit, while the founders of the Latter-day Saints believed that God was a human being who achieved Godhood. The Mormon church also rejects the Nicene Creed, which emphasizes the doctrine of the Trinity as one divine being.

Utah’s U.S. Senators Mike Lee and John Curtis, both Republicans and Latter-day Saints, challenged the Pentagon’s exclusion of their faith from its list of Christian religions. Senator Lee stated that his church membership is inextricably intertwined with his Christianity, as it is for 17 million other Latter-day Saints.

A Long-Standing Debate

The debate over the Mormon church’s Christian identity is not new, dating back nearly 200 years to the days of the church’s founding. The Catholic Church has long held that Latter-day Saints are not Christian, citing differences in their views on God and the Trinity.

Matthew Bowman, chair of Mormon studies at Claremont Graduate University, noted that the primary difference between major Christian denominations and Latter-day Saints lies in how the nature of God is defined and their view of the Trinity. Bowman also stated that the question of Latter-day Saints’ Christian identity exploded during Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign.

Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.