The Claremont Mormon Studies Student Association conference in April 2008 was entitled “’May These Principles Be Established’: Mormonism in the Political Arena.”

The balance between church and state has always been a contentious issue in the United States. From the time of Joseph Smith’s presidential campaign, through the tumultuous integration of Utah into the wider American political body and up to the present day in which Mormons dot the political landscape, Mormonism has sought to define its relationship to the body politic. In the process, it has raised issues ranging from theocracy to the place of private beliefs in public policy creation.

The Claremont Mormon Studies Student Association (CMSSA) hosted a conference addressing these and other issues. The conference was held on April 18-19, 2008 at Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, California.

Presenters from a variety of social scientific and humanities disciplines delivered papers. Besides organizing the conference, the CMSSA students also delivered papers.