Secession in Exodus

Abstract

Religious exit is a distinct point on the horizon of separatist activity. For religious communities, separation has been a method to protect a religious order that was under assault and a tool to create the material conditions necessary for a spiritual ideal, a godly kingdom on earth, beyond the bounds of a sinful America. This chapter analyzes discourses of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. From its beginning, the Church has faced tremendous pressure to assimilate into and separate from American culture. Brigham Young displayed the Church’s view of secession when he declared in 1845, “When we go from here we dont calculate to go under any government but the government of God.” Over the next century the Church and Utah integrated into America as a distinct religious group and showed that Young’s declaration was premised on a false choice, as they successfully utilized secession to advance integration.