gopher Posted December 29, 2025 Posted December 29, 2025 "Why the time is ripe for Mormon mania" From the article at: https://www.businessinsider.com/mormon-reality-tv-influencers-fascination-anxiety-2025-12 (make sure you have your ad-block on) "I think there is a willingness to embrace Mormon culture from the outside in a way that did not exist 10, 15 years ago," said Talia Burnside, a philosophy and religious studies lecturer at Morgan State University. Did it really take reality shows, dirty sodas, and giant cookies to improve the public's perception of the church and its members? 1
Pyreaux Posted December 29, 2025 Posted December 29, 2025 (edited) 13 hours ago, gopher said: "Why the time is ripe for Mormon mania" From the article at: https://www.businessinsider.com/mormon-reality-tv-influencers-fascination-anxiety-2025-12 (make sure you have your ad-block on) "I think there is a willingness to embrace Mormon culture from the outside in a way that did not exist 10, 15 years ago," said Talia Burnside, a philosophy and religious studies lecturer at Morgan State University. Did it really take reality shows, dirty sodas, and giant cookies to improve the public's perception of the church and its members? Pop-culture representations have made certain Mormon-associated cultural aesthetics and lifestyles more visible. I think people know intellectually that The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City and The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives are not documentaries, they’re reality TV with spectacle and stylized personalities, so they don’t necessarily reflect the religion faithfully. People are however being exposed to Utah trends and brands with LDS roots beyond regional Mormon communities makes Mormon-linked culture visible to people who otherwise might never have encountered it. They are now associating certain fun or quirky trends with "Mormon culture", however loosely. For a younger audience experiencing loneliness, anxiety, and a desire for community may find Mormon family dinners, close friendships, community gatherings very appealing, even if they know next to nothing about the actual religion. It makes us seem relatable or desirable to some segments of the public. I do think any shift in the conversation away from our politics and stereotypes to everyday culture will be easy for outsiders to engage with. Even flawed exposure can reduce fear and dehumanization. Whether that counts as "improving perception" depends on what you mean, many folks might now associate Mormon culture with fun trends and stronger communities, their understanding of the actual religion will remain shallow. If people stop thinking of "Mormons" as a faceless, monolithic cult and start seeing ordinary people with jobs, families, flaws, humor, Mormonism becomes less "scary" or exotic. That alone improves day-to-day interactions for members. People feel permission to ask questions, visit Utah, talk to members, or read something thoughtful later. The downside is what they are seeing are the least faithful versions of Mormon identity being celebrated. The wrong traits getting rewarded. Loud, boundary-pushing, rule-breaking "Mormon-adjacent" figures become the public face. The faith becomes purely aesthetic, not moral. A community gets reduced to a fashion trend. It helps members exist more easily in public life, but it may make serious religious commitments in Mormonism seem unnecessary. Exposure lowers hostility but also lowers gravity. Edited December 30, 2025 by Pyreaux 2
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