Significant Shift in Evangelical Thinking

This year something transpired in the Evangelical and Fundamentalist church that 20 yrs. ago, or even 8 yrs. ago I thought wouldn't occur in my lifetime. In the 70s and 80s several of my professors and other Evangelical leaders claimed that Mormonism was a threat to the church. They said ministers needed to teach those sitting in the pews that though it may seem at first to be a type of Christian faith, Mormonism was anything but a Christian faith. They noted it was a heresy on so many levels. A plethora of books were published in the same age on the subject. 

 Further, since the 70s Evangelicals and Fundamentalists have maintained that the President being a Christian was of paramount importance. Since the 90s it has been more so. Hence, for many presidential election cycles we have witnessed prospective candidates pandering to the conservative church. We have seen the same with House and Senate candidates who speak openly of their faith in "born again" language yet behind the scenes living a life contrary to their claims. 

 In the last months, overwhelmingly so Evangelicals have embraced Mitt Romney's bid for for the White House. To maintain the later means viewing Mormonism as a Christian faith, not a heresy or cult. To still view Mormonism as a heretical cult means Evangelicals and Fundamentalists are not as dogmatic about their President being a Christian by their definition of orthodox faith.