Called on to Renounce Religion

Mitt Romney was recently called on by Rev. O'Neal Dozier to renounce his Mormon religion because, as he asserts it is a "racist" religion.  I want to assume for this entry that whatever the reverend says is correct.  Aside from the assumptions that Mormonism is racist due to its the timing of allowing African Americans to receive the priesthood, and that racism is bad, the reverend must also assume that people should not affiliate with organizations or entities that are racist.  I say this because without that assumption there would be no logical connection between his assumptions about the church and his call for Mitt Romney to renounce his religion.

So, since I am making all the same assumptions as Rev. Dozier, I would have to request that everyone who is associated with anything that ever was racist, must renounce that organization.  Which would mean that every single American should renounce our nation.  Why?  Because our nation was racist.  African Americans were counted as property, they were slaves.  Since, to Rev. Dozier, people should not affiliate with organizations that were racist, nobody should be affiliated with the United States.

Does that seem right?  No, it doesn't.  Not to me at least.  As the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints  has commented, there is no identifiable reason for why the church did not permit African Americans to have the priesthood until 1978.  I do not believe the church is racist, so I think the reverends request is absurd, but I also think that his request is absurd because it doesn't make sense, as described above.