Mormons See Politics Hit Membership

Mormons, like Catholics, are seeing church political positions drive members from the flock:

Church leaders never anticipated the Internet generation would access their history online. Joseph Smith used magic stones to see into the past. Today, young Mormons use Google. When they discover that their founding prophet wedded several teenage girls, it is often a traumatic revelation. Mormons experience a crisis of trust, if not outright betrayal, from their leaders.
Though the actual numbers of defections have not been published, anecdotal stories abound throughout Utah. It’s not just Joseph’s sex life that causes many Mormons to mistrust their leaders, but also the church’s persistent commitment to right-wing politics.
“I cannot count the number of stories I’ve heard from moms who left the church because of Prop. 8,” explained Utah writer and social critic Holly Welker. “The reason? They have a gay son or daughter.”
Indeed, since the backlash after Prop. 8, the church has been cautious when it comes to hot-button social issues. It has proclaimed itself on the sidelines of Maryland’s gay-marriage referendum and allowed a gay student club to form at Brigham Young University.

It is amazing that unlike the Catholic bishops, the Mormons haven't doubled down on the politics.  With the Catholic bishops' uncompromising conservative bent, a shortage of priests and the toll of demographics in central cities leaving lots of underutilized infrastructure, the future of the American Catholic church is one of contraction, retrenchment, parish closings and tight finances.