A poll taken by Dan Jones & Associates for UtahPolicy surveyed 601 people to determine within about +/- 4% margin of error what people of Utah thought concerning the LDS Church's influence on the Utah legislature and politics.
Unsurprisingly, the less Mormon the surveyed was, the more the person thought the LDS Church had too much influence on the law. The more Mormon the individual was (based on membership and activity), the more the person thought the LDS church had the right amount or not enough influence on Utah politics. It seems most Mormon people want the church to have just as much political involvement in the future, if not more. Most non-Mormons felt the opposite.
Of active members:
88% thought the church had the right amount or not enough influence.
5% thought the church had too much influence.
Of less active members:
70% thought the church had the right amount or not enough influence.
26% thought the church had too much influence.
Of inactive members:
45% thought the church had the right amount or not enough influence.
49% thought the church had too much influence.
Of people of other religions:
15% thought the church had the right amount or not enough influence.
83% thought the church had too much influence.
Of people with no religious affiliation:
17% thought the church had the right amount or not enough influence.
80% thought the church had too much influence.
The rest of the numbers were "Don't Know".
A similar trend is seen in political affiliation.
Although a church can promote beliefs and ask members to vote according to those beliefs, a church cannot ask members to vote for particular candidates and most measures. In my opinion, a tax-exempt church should not be allowed to lobby a legislature to enact particular laws. The members are welcome to be politically active as long as they are not official church representatives.
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