The SL Trib has an article summarizing Dennis Potter's Sunstone presentation, "The Americanization of Mormonism Reflected in Pop Culture." According to the article, Potter sees the slow demise of radical LDS theology (e.g., communitarianism, becoming gods, Mother in heaven) as evidence of Mormonism's surrender to the American and Christian mainstream.
But what are the alternatives to Americanization: Europeanization? Africanization? Given that any real-world religious institution is going to have some aspects of regional culture leaking into it, the American option seems like the best (or least harmful) of the lot. And there is a distinct Mormon culture that is at odds with a host of practices that fit squarely within "mainstream American culture," battling against everything from the morning cup of coffee and R-rated movies to such recent cultural fads as tattoos and poker. [The Trib has an article on the Sunstone tattoo session, too.]
Earlier, I posted my own comments on an earlier version of Potter's remarks. There are also some comments on Potter's presentation in a post at AMV.
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