Few religious communities have made the development and maintenance of traditional family structures such a central priority. Since 2007, the denomination has shed 1.2 million members.īut more than the rules, rituals, and rigorous theology, the success of the Mormon Church may have to do with their unrelenting focus on the family. The Southern Baptist Convention, the heart of conservative Protestantism, has sustained 12 straight years of membership loses. This theory has since fallen out of favor as the tide of disaffiliation appears to be washing over conservative and liberal denominations alike. And perhaps as importantly, Mormons are far younger than members of white Christian traditions.Īt one time, sociologists and religion scholars argued that theologically conservative churches, which demanded more of their members, were successful because they ultimately provided more rewarding religious and spiritual experiences. By contrast, Mormons have held steady at roughly 2 percent of the US population for the past several years. Today, white evangelical Protestants account for 15 percent of the adult population, down from nearly one-quarter a decade earlier. White Christian groups have experienced the most dramatic losses over the past decade. Christian denominations around the country are contending with massive defections. One-quarter of Americans are religiously unaffiliated today, a roughly fourfold increase from a couple of decades earlier. In an era marked by unprecedented religious decline, Mormons appear to be holding their own. While the structure of the LDS Church, which relies on volunteer leadership at the local level, requires an active membership, there is an upside to the obligations of religious community.
On a Saturday night, we might not be kicking back and watching a movie or bingeing Netflix we’re planning our Sunday school lesson.” “My husband and I teach Sunday school to 14- and 15-year-old teenagers. The prohibition on tea, coffee or alcohol. It’s not just the expectation that you will adhere to strict religious standards when it comes to dating and sex. Jennifer, a young mother and member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in northern Virginia, is honest about the challenges of being Mormon in America today.
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