Mormonism and Democracy

Speaking of faith and reason ... every year, twice a year, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life holds a conference for journalists in Key West, featuring all sorts of fascinating speakers as well as a really nice beach. I went last winter, but unfortunately wasn't able to attend this spring's session; happily, they post transcripts online, and if you're looking for a lively discussion of Mormonism in America, I highly recommend browsing through this talk (and the Q&A that follows) given by Richard Lyman Bushman, a professor at Columbia, a Mormon, and a biographer of Joseph Smith.

(More thoughts, and some excerpts, from Mollie at Get Religion.)