Empowerment Postscript #2

I concluded my previous posting (a postscript to this) by saying:

"The message was delivered by boring, well-dressed, reasonable people, not dudes defiantly flaunting their nipple clamps"

...and a friend emailed in this comment:

That hasn't worked too well for the Mormons, has it? And how more boring could one get?

I think absolutely the contrary is true. There have been societies that were relatively tolerant of new religious movements and cults, but America sure isn't one of them. The reason Mormonism has flourished and been viewed with uncharacteristic (if not total) tolerance here is precisely the image of boring, well-dressed, reasonable affability on the part of its practitioners - almost a caricature of the world's image of Americans.

So Mormonism is a perfect example of what I'm describing. Rather than staunchly leading with what makes them different ("Empowerment!"), they lead with what makes them a comfortably dull fit amid the plurality.