The Mormon Octopus and Modern Intolerance

(Originally Aired: 10/25/2017) Guest: Anthea Butler, PhD, Professor of Religious Studies and Africana Studies, University of Pennsylvania A little more than 100 years ago, a Baptist missionary group published a pamphlet featuring an inky-black octopus covering Utah and surrounding states. “Like a huge octopus, the Mormon hierarchy is fastening its tentacles throughout the Rocky Mountain States,” read the pamphlet. Looking back, such alarm might seem silly. But if you replace the word “Mormon” with “Muslim,” or “immigrant” or “refugee,” this ominous octopus pamphlet could have appeared on your Facebook feed yesterday.