I was a Mormon missionary in France and I also heard the rumor that the 1985 Harrison Ford film “Witness” dubbed “Mormon” over “Amish” in the French version. But I never confirmed this.

On the street in France I once asked a guy if he knew who Mormons were and he was like “Yeah, people who don’t use electricity and all that.”

The fact that missionaries have such a strict dress code probably only strengthens this misconception.

Interesting comparison with the Amish, Dan. As a matter of fact, Mormons and Amish are sometimes taken together in French expressions. Moreover, some French confound the two to such an extent that that in the French version of the film Witness “Amish” was translated by “Mormon” (as reported on the web, I have no proof of it). I French-googled Amish + mormon and it’s amazing how many times the question is asked about the difference between the two, or people being corrected for confusing them.

What certainly contributed to the confusion was the massive publicity given to the Pioneer sesquicentennial in 1997 –images of pioneer dress, bearded men with hats, the trail, wagons, etc. Also in French newspaper & journals.

“Short-sleeved white shirt and tie?” Things must have loosened up since the late 1970′s, when I served in W. Berlin (then part of the Hamburg Mission). We weren’t allowed to go anywhere without our jackets on, even in the summer. (Sometimes we’d take off our jackets while riding our bikes, but put them back on as soon as we arrived.). Wouldn’t be caught dead with American shirts, either, with their “American eagle” flyaway collar tips – German Seidensticker shirts with stiff collars were de rigeur…;)

Well, as they say in the PR biz, there’s no such thing as bad publicity. There’s more than one way for the church to emerge from obscurity. I’m not sure if the church Public Affairs department sees things quite the same way, though.

It would make a fascinating sociolinguistic study to inventory all these comparisons in various languages. Some other ones I found in French (my translation). Some, of course, also confirm positive images indirectly:

“They left faster than a mormon who entered a porn cinema by mistake”

“The F-GRXH [aviation] does not deviate more from the axis than an orthodox mormon on a bell-ringing church day”

“Jacques Rogge [head of Olympics Committee], as serious and polyglot as a mormon, has promised a strict reorganisation of the Vatican of sports”

(in a discussion on breast feeding & the need of healthy living): “Breastfeeding, that means I would have to live for a few months like a mormon. Hard.”

(talking about a webmaster) “He is incorruptible, inattaquable! Worse than un mormon integriste! Eliott Ness is nothing in comparison”

(in a critique of a performance meant to be humorous, and this one must indeed be from Canada) “The audience remained frigid like une mormone ontarienne the night of her marriage”

etc. plenty more to be found…

It’s a good sign you are not aware of the environment where those phrases are used! You’ll find them especially in the more vulgar forums and chats. And with the kind of French vocabulary not learned at school.

Not sure if same rhetoric is used as much in French Canadian environment. Sources I found that identify origin are French, Belgian and Francophone African countries. A google search with /qu’un Mormon/ and /comme un mormon/ and the like, reveals thousands of references, a fair amount of which are not tied to Mormon topics, but simply using “mormon” in a negative comparison.

Of course, when famous singers like Lynda Lemay (ah, indeed Canadian, but just as famous in France) starts singing lyrics with such Mormon comparison, it’s spreading… Happily, in this song of hers it’s not too bad yet:

J’attendrai sous ton balcon
J’vais hanter ton horizon
J’vais m’ancrer au bar salon
J’vais prier comme un mormon
T’idolatrer comme un pauvre con
Un detraque qui ecrit ton nom …
A l’infini dans des cahiers
En graffitis dans les WC
Je t’attendrai, Je t’attendrai, Je t’attendrai….