First of all, you should know that if American Mormons don't always fit the description of "white, conservative and Republican," Mormons from other countries are even farther from that stereotype. My wife, for example, is a black Mormon from Brazil who was a socialist in her day.
Are Mormons always white? Internationally, the answer to this question is overwhelmingly no. In the United States, a good percentage of Mormons come from Utah. In the 19th century, there was a large migration of European Mormons from England and Scandinavia to Utah, and this migration has affected Utah racial demographics significantly. Because many American Mormons have Utah ancestors, there are many white Mormons in this country. However, the LDS Church is truly for everyone, and great progress has been made in the United States to increase the diversity within the Mormon community. As time passes, the demographics of American Mormons are beginning to match the demographics of non-American Mormons. A recent Pew study on religion demonstrated that mainline Protestant Churches are actually more “white” percentage-wise than is the LDS Church in the United States.
Are Mormons always conservative? The majority of Mormons in the United States and abroad are socially conservative, but not necessarily conservative on other issues. Opinions regarding stem-cell research, big government, etc., really do run the gamut.
Are Mormons Republican? A recent survey suggested that most American Mormons are actually Republican-leaning independents. My impression is that the typical Mormon is a conservative-leaning moderate. The Church as an institution, however, is aggressively partisan neutral. In fact, the LDS Church never endorses one political party over another and prohibits the use of Church buildings and telephone directories for political purposes. The Church encourages members to be politically active but never dictates which party they should join. While the Church does on rare occasions speak out on moral issues that happen to be hot political topics, it always refers to the moral principle and never to the political parties that endorse or reject that principle. I know of a number of Mormon leaders, even on the international level, that were moderate Democrats.
