YouGov Poll on 35 Religious Groups, Orgs, Etc.

[Snodgrassian]

On 12/24/2022 at 2:00 PM, smac97 said:

5. I wonder how much of this is attributable more to media and social media treatment of these groups, as compared to respondents actually knowing much about these groups, interacting with them, etc.  This might explain why Falun Gong and Sikhism get mediocre scores (-10 and -8, respectively), while more well-known / prominent groups score notably worse (such as Islam, us, Scientologists, etc.).

I would venture to say that Falun Gong and Sikhism are probably more well known than the CoJCoLDS. It is surprisingly difficult to find the number of Falun Gong followers, but there is a claim that around the year 2000, there were approx 70,000,000 - 100,000,000 followers in China alone. And the Sikhs have around 30,000,000. In my part of the country, i would venture to say that people probably know more about those two religions than the CoJCoLDS. Just last week I was speaking with a friend and his wife, and she had never heard of the CoJCoLDS, I am always a bit surprised when I encounter this, as she is well educated and works in a prominent field, but it is a reminder that our faith is still small in the big scheme of things.

Remember, the Falun Gong owns the Epoch Times, and has gained some prominence over the past few years in some circles. 

Edited December 27, 2022 by Snodgrassian

[smac97]

1 hour ago, Snodgrassian said:

I would venture to say that Falun Gong and Sikhism are probably more well known than the CoJCoLDS.

More well-known in the United States?

1 hour ago, Snodgrassian said:

It is surprisingly difficult to find the number of Falun Gong followers, but there is a claim that around the year 2000, there were approx 70,000,000 - 100,000,000 followers in China alone. And the Sikhs have around 30,000,000. In my part of the country, i would venture to say that people probably know more about those two religions than the CoJCoLDS. Just last week I was speaking with a friend and his wife, and she had never heard of the CoJCoLDS, I am always a bit surprised when I encounter this, as she is well educated and works in a prominent field, but it is a reminder that our faith is still small in the big scheme of things.

I think the Church qua "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" has less name recognition than "the Mormon Church" or the "LDS Church."

1 hour ago, Snodgrassian said:

Remember, the Falun Gong owns the Epoch Times, and has gained some prominence over the past few years in some circles. 

Yes, I'm aware.  They also own the Shen Yun performing arts group.

I served my mission in Taiwan from 1993-95, during the early years of Falun Gong.  I started hearing more about it toward the end of my mission.  But I would be surprised if many Americans have heard about it (at least more than have heard of us).

Thanks,

-Smac

[Scott Lloyd]

3 hours ago, Snodgrassian said:

I would venture to say that Falun Gong and Sikhism are probably more well known than the CoJCoLDS. It is surprisingly difficult to find the number of Falun Gong followers, but there is a claim that around the year 2000, there were approx 70,000,000 - 100,000,000 followers in China alone. And the Sikhs have around 30,000,000. In my part of the country, i would venture to say that people probably know more about those two religions than the CoJCoLDS. Just last week I was speaking with a friend and his wife, and she had never heard of the CoJCoLDS, I am always a bit surprised when I encounter this, as she is well educated and works in a prominent field, but it is a reminder that our faith is still small in the big scheme of things.

Remember, the Falun Gong owns the Epoch Times, and has gained some prominence over the past few years in some circles. 

Bear in mind that initialisms in place of the full and proper name of the Church are frowned upon these days just as much as “Mormon Church.”  If you are going to use “CoJCoLDS,” you might as well just say “LDS Church.” It’s less awkward, more recognizable and no less acceptable. 
 

The preferred shortened form is simply “the Church of Jesus Christ.” 

Edited December 27, 2022 by Scott Lloyd

[The Nehor]

On 12/25/2022 at 8:13 PM, Kenngo1969 said:

Zucchini bread anyone?  

A lot of hate crimes in this thread.

[Navidad]

My guess is that folks don't like what they don't know. I know I feel about some of these groups like I do about menudo. My own experience is that many, if not most active non-LDS Christians do not doctrinally distinguish between the fundamentalist sects and the LDS church. They do distinguish culturally, but not doctrinally. They also do not know how to distinguish doctrinally or culturally between Amish, Mennonites, and many of the Brethren groups. I think folks even do worse at distinguishing between various non-Christian groups, especially the various sects of Islam.

Now back to menudo. I think we also inform our reactions and beliefs by our experiences. Some years ago I spoke at a conference and did some organizational healing stuff with various Protestant mission groups in a central American country. I had menudo and got quite sick, requiring me to cancel some of the meetings. I haven't touched menudo since. It is wildly popular where I live right now. I have to be very careful not to offend folks by my reactions to being offered some of grandma's favorite.  My two biggest cultural barriers living here in Mexico are menudo and avocados! Folks here assure me that even if I become a citizen here, I will not be Mexican until I eat menudo and avocados-on-everything.

[JAHS]

8 hours ago, Navidad said:

My guess is that folks don't like what they don't know. I know I feel about some of these groups like I do about menudo. My own experience is that many, if not most active non-LDS Christians do not doctrinally distinguish between the fundamentalist sects and the LDS church. They do distinguish culturally, but not doctrinally. They also do not know how to distinguish doctrinally or culturally between Amish, Mennonites, and many of the Brethren groups. I think folks even do worse at distinguishing between various non-Christian groups, especially the various sects of Islam.

Now back to menudo. I think we also inform our reactions and beliefs by our experiences. Some years ago I spoke at a conference and did some organizational healing stuff with various Protestant mission groups in a central American country. I had menudo and got quite sick, requiring me to cancel some of the meetings. I haven't touched menudo since. It is wildly popular where I live right now. I have to be very careful not to offend folks by my reactions to being offered some of grandma's favorite.  My two biggest cultural barriers living here in Mexico are menudo and avocados! Folks here assure me that even if I become a citizen here, I will not be Mexican until I eat menudo and avocados-on-everything.

I can't eat menudo either and have a severe food sensitivity with avocados. Guess I better stay in the US.

[Snodgrassian]

21 hours ago, smac97 said:

23 hours ago, Snodgrassian said:

I would venture to say that Falun Gong and Sikhism are probably more well known than the CoJCoLDS.

More well-known in the United States?

Definitely possible, though hard to imagine/comprehend. Both groups population (worldwide) dwarf the Church's membership. Then you add that it is fairly easy to identify Sikhism via clothing.

The Church of Jesus Christ is quite concentrated in the US and can easily get lost in the mix of religious groups/churches. Once you leave the Mountain West, it is quite scarce. I am often questioned non stop by classmates/colleagues about my religion, they literally know very little if anything about our beliefs. 

21 hours ago, smac97 said:

I served my mission in Taiwan from 1993-95, during the early years of Falun Gong.  I started hearing more about it toward the end of my mission.  But I would be surprised if many Americans have heard about it (at least more than have heard of us).

That is awesome. I used to speak some Chinese, spent time in China. It is a fascinating place/culture.

On the East Coast, I often see Falun Gong pamphlets, protests, and articles about them. The places I have lived happen to have large populations of both groups, hence my thoughts concerning them. 

 

***Update***

 I just read the actual article associated with the survey, and the opening paragraph states: 

Quote

Looking at the full results reveals a more detailed picture of which religious groups and belief systems Americans are familiar with, as well as how strongly they feel about them. The least well-known are Falun Gong (a spiritual movement that originated in China in the 1990s), the Bahá'í Faith (a religion that originated in the Middle East in the 19th century), and Sikhism (a religion that originated in India in the 15th century). 

So, there you have it. I am incorrect based on the findings of the YouGov survey. 

It is interesting that the only faith I do not recognize did not make this list of the least recognizable: The Church of God in Christ

Edited December 28, 2022 by Snodgrassian
updated

[Eschaton]

I wonder how favorability ratings of the LDS Church has changed over time? 

[california boy]

In California, people have heard of the Mormon Church.  Few know it by it's full name.  After 6 months of campaigning for Prop 8, the image of being strongly anti LGBT is ingrained into peoples mind.  6 months of pounding that message into the people of California is never going to go away.  I doubt most people have heard much about the Church since then.  

The other thing I hear is the whole polygamy thing probably reinforced by programs like Sister Wives even though they are not LDS, but it does take place in SLC. But even before those programs, polygamy and the Mormon Church was already tied together pretty firmly in peoples minds.  It also probably will never go away.

They also know about the Book of Mormon and missionaries mostly from the play.   A lot of people in California have at some point had their day interrupted by two missionaries knocking on their door trying to sell them something they had not asked to hear about.  To them, it is intrusive.  After that, what most people know about the Church is pretty scattered and usually depending on whether they have any friends or work with a member.

If most people base their opinion on those three main things, then it is not at all surprising that people have such a low opinion of the Church.

To understand the lack of knowledge about the Church, just ask yourself what you know about the Jehovah Witnesses  What do you know about JW's other than things like blood transfusions, the Watchtower, and their missionaries? and worshiping on Saturdays? How about the Seventh Day Adventists other than they meet on Saturdays and have some health code of some kind.  Can you name 10 things about either of those beliefs?   If you don't have acquaintances in those religions, probably not much more than a few basic facts.  

 

[BlueDreams]

3 hours ago, Snodgrassian said:

Definitely possible, though hard to imagine/comprehend. Both groups population (worldwide) dwarf the Church's membership. Then you add that it is fairly easy to identify Sikhism via clothing.

The Church of Jesus Christ is quite concentrated in the US and can easily get lost in the mix of religious groups/churches. Once you leave the Mountain West, it is quite scarce. I am often questioned non stop by classmates/colleagues about my religion, they literally know very little if anything about our beliefs. 

That is awesome. I used to speak some Chinese, spent time in China. It is a fascinating place/culture.

On the East Coast, I often see Falun Gong pamphlets, protests, and articles about them. The places I have lived happen to have large populations of both groups, hence my thoughts concerning them. 

 

***Update***

 I just read the actual article associated with the survey, and the opening paragraph states: 

So, there you have it. I am incorrect based on the findings of the YouGov survey. 

It is interesting that the only faith I do not recognize did not make this list of the least recognizable: The Church of God in Christ

FWIW, I had never heard of Falun gong prior to this article. And I do enjoy learning a little about world religions. I've never lived in a place with a large ethnic Chinese population, which is likely why. Then again, thay describes large swaths of the US, minus a few city centers. 

I know more about Sikhism because I found it a cool faith. But I've never had a strong Sikh acquaintance and recognizing single physical practice wouldn't tell anyone much about the faith.

 

 

With luv, 

BD 

[Teancum]

On 12/24/2022 at 3:06 PM, JAHS said:

That would only be 0.003% of the US population, so no it is not.

Umm no.  It can be if the statistical sample was random.  Apparently you do not understand statistics.

[Teancum]

I am not surprised at all that The Church of Jesus Christ if Latter-day Saints scored so low.  Now am I about Jehovah witnesses.  Both groups are viewed by outsiders as fairly insular, odd and pushy based on their proselyting efforts.

[Teancum]

On 12/24/2022 at 10:12 PM, rodheadlee said:

If they divided it by State and by urban and rural and Suburban they would get a wholly different answer.

Which would NOT be a good statistical sampling.

[Teancum]

On 12/27/2022 at 5:39 PM, Scott Lloyd said:

Bear in mind that initialisms in place of the full and proper name of the Church are frowned upon these days just as much as “Mormon Church.”  If you are going to use “CoJCoLDS,” you might as well just say “LDS Church.” It’s less awkward, more recognizable and no less acceptable. 
 

The preferred shortened form is simply “the Church of Jesus Christ.” 

Good lord.  Get off your high and mighty horse.

Edited December 29, 2022 by Teancum

[Damien the Leper]

I don't understand why Presbyterianism, Lutheranism, Pentecostalism, etc. are separated from Protestantism. That alone doesn't make any sense to me.

[JustAnAustralian]

3 hours ago, Damien the Leper said:

I don't understand why Presbyterianism, Lutheranism, Pentecostalism, etc. are separated from Protestantism. That alone doesn't make any sense to me.

It seems to me that they've mixed several levels of the denomination hierarchy into the same survey. So they have Christian, several broad groupings of Christian, and then individual denominations within those groupings.

They have also split Anglican and The Episcopal Church even though the The Episcopal Church is part of the Anglican Communion.

[Damien the Leper]

On 12/29/2022 at 6:11 PM, JustAnAustralian said:

It seems to me that they've mixed several levels of the denomination hierarchy into the same survey. So they have Christian, several broad groupings of Christian, and then individual denominations within those groupings.

They have also split Anglican and The Episcopal Church even though the The Episcopal Church is part of the Anglican Communion.

Hmmm...

ETA: Even with the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion connection Anglicanism is still one of 16 original Protestant denominations.

Edited January 2, 2023 by Damien the Leper

[smac97]

The poll referenced in the OP was addressed in an article yesterday in the Deseret News: Perspective: What happens when the religiously illiterate are asked about Latter-day Saints

Some excerpts:

Quote

Latter-day Saints are among faith groups that ranked negatively in a recent survey. But it’s likely that people are not distinguishing between major faith groups and their controversial offshoots

I think that is an accurate assessment.

Quote

Several months ago, on the Joe Rogan podcast, comedian Whitney Cummings mentioned a documentary she had seen about child abuse perpetrated by Warren Jeffs, leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In the course of the conversation, she asked why “we’re not all storming Salt Lake City to get these girls out” and wondered whether she was “going to get a dart in the neck (because) there is so much fear around the Mormon Church.”

It was clear she was completely oblivious to the fact that Jeffs’ offshoot, polygamous, fundamentalist sect was completely different from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (Which also doesn’t use the term “Mormon” anymore.)

Despite this, at no point in the conversation was there any kind of pushback, correction or questioning from the host or on-site producer, who seemed equally oblivious (which isn’t surprising since Rogan also once believed that Jews hold Jesus as a prophet). 

Rogan is an interesting guy, but he obviously doesn't know much about things outside of MMA and MJ.  But I like that he invites interesting people on his show.

Quote

The thing is, it’s not just Rogan. A nationally representative survey showed that only one-third of respondents knew that Latter-day Saints can’t have more than one wife, while only about half know that members believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God — despite “Jesus Christ” being part of the church’s name.

And about a quarter believed that Latter-day Saints can’t have blood transfusions. They can — that’s a teaching of Jehovah’s Witnesses. 

The lack of knowledge is not just about Latter-day Saints either. Pew found that only about half of Americans could correctly identify Jesus as giving the Sermon on the Mount — even when given four options.

When I was in the Army I was repeatedly asked, apparently unironically, how many wives my father had, and in other instances how Mormons hide their horns.

Quote

With religious literacy in the United States so abysmal, it’s hard to know what to make of another recent poll that showed that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has one of the lowest favorability ratings of any faith — lower than Wicca and not far ahead of satanism. 

This is the poll referenced in the OP.

Quote

One has to wonder, do respondents in that poll even know the difference between Latter-day Saints and the fundamentalist Mormons that get so much airtime in the press? 

Given the exchange on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” one of the most listened-to podcasts in the world, I have my doubts.

It's a fair point.  Candidly, I am only familiar in very broad strokes with most other Christian traditions.  I know only snippets, bits and pieces.

That said, I have no particularly adverse opinion of any of these groups, or of other religious groups (dangerous/extremist elements/factions excepted).

Quote

Much of the discussion about the survey naturally went to what could be the reason for the favorability ratings. For instance, one commentator noted, “I’m surprised that Democrats prefer Protestantism to Catholicism.” Another person noted, “Republicans significantly more pro-Jewish (+23) than Democrats (+9).” Brian Clark weighed in, “I’m Episcopalian. Anyone know why we aren’t more liked? Those numbers seem low.”

And on Twitter, Manuel Hernandez quipped that “Scientology ranking worse than Satanism also explains Tom Cruise’s Oscar snub.”

There is a lot that we can speculate on. But in general, the numbers aren’t that surprising for Latter-day Saints, as they track other surveys showing us in the company of other religious minority groups such as Muslims, when it comes to popularity. 

I suppose minority status can also be a factor (in tandem with others).

Quote

For those of us who find solace and sweetness in our faith, the natural assumption is that deeper understanding of the faith will generate more affection — if they knew more about the church, they would love it as we do. But, of course, we also know that some expressing the strongest disapproval of a certain faith do know it well — or at least they think they do.  

In the case of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, attitudes toward the faith may have less to do with the same-sex dating policy at religious schools or with theological positioning about the exact nature of Christ’s divinity, and more to do with a Netflix documentary producer’s choice of creepy music. 

So . . . superficial and/or distorted characterizations and caricatures in pop culture can also be a factor.  That tracks.

Quote

There are certainly discussions worth having about what exactly Latter-day Saints do (or don’t do) that invokes such ire in the broader public. But with such widespread ignorance about religion in general, it’s important that we pay attention to not just what we say and do, but how we are perceived.

And clearly, among some people, there is a perception that all faith groups are a societal problem that needs to be confronted. One shocking takeaway was that, to some Democrats, Latter-day Saints were seen as worse than satanists. In view of these results, one man suggested, “Republican religious bigotry toward LDS is the reason we didn’t have two terms of President Mitt Romney.”

And of course, it’s not just bigotry, but ignorance, at play.

It’s also worth noting that the chatterati commenting on the “why” behind these numbers are often people whose knowledge of the faith is limited to game-show tidbits such as the fact that Joseph Smith was a Latter-day Saint.

If people don’t know even the basics of a faith group, is it asking too much for them to differentiate between the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?

It seems so. And I suspect that’s one good reason why the two groups are relatively close together in this survey’s rankings.

That last paragraph is apt.  If the Baptists can legitimately differentiate and distance themselves from the awfulness that is the Westboro Baptist Church, if the Methodists and Pentecostals can disclaim Jim Jones, if Buddhists can reject association with or culpability for Aum Shinrikyo, if the Adventists can distance themselves from David Koresh and the Branch Davidians, then we ought to be differentiated from the FLDS groups, who schizmatized nearly a century ago.

Quote

In a similar vein, one commentator said about the differences in religious favorability, “What is one supposed to do with this? How many respondents have a clue as to the difference between Northern and Southern Baptists or between The Episcopal Church and Presbyterianism?”

Another likewise asked, “Very curious what percentage of respondents thought Christian Scientist meant Scientologist.”

The reality is that the average American probably can’t, religiously speaking, tell the difference between an avocado and a chihuahua. That needs to change — and it needs to be taken into account when speculating about surveys.

In other words, let's not read too much into this sort of thing.  And yet at the same time, this sort of things demonstrates that there is a lot we can do to improve our standing and reputation in broader society.

Thanks,

-Smac

[Tacenda]

2 hours ago, smac97 said:

The poll referenced in the OP was addressed in an article yesterday in the Deseret News: Perspective: What happens when the religiously illiterate are asked about Latter-day Saints

Some excerpts:

I think that is an accurate assessment.

Rogan is an interesting guy, but he obviously doesn't know much about things outside of MMA and MJ.  But I like that he invites interesting people on his show.

When I was in the Army I was repeatedly asked, apparently unironically, how many wives my father had, and in other instances how Mormons hide their horns.

This is the poll referenced in the OP.

It's a fair point.  Candidly, I am only familiar in very broad strokes with most other Christian traditions.  I know only snippets, bits and pieces.

That said, I have no particularly adverse opinion of any of these groups, or of other religious groups (dangerous/extremist elements/factions excepted).

I suppose minority status can also be a factor (in tandem with others).

So . . . superficial and/or distorted characterizations and caricatures in pop culture can also be a factor.  That tracks.

That last paragraph is apt.  If the Baptists can legitimately differentiate and distance themselves from the awfulness that is the Westboro Baptist Church, if the Methodists and Pentecostals can disclaim Jim Jones, if Buddhists can reject association with or culpability for Aum Shinrikyo, if the Adventists can distance themselves from David Koresh and the Branch Davidians, then we ought to be differentiated from the FLDS groups, who schizmatized nearly a century ago.

In other words, let's not read too much into this sort of thing.  And yet at the same time, this sort of things demonstrates that there is a lot we can do to improve our standing and reputation in broader society.

Thanks,

-Smac

I thought it is correct that Jews believe Jesus was a prophet, just not the Savior.

[Calm]

5 minutes ago, Tacenda said:

I thought it is correct that Jews believe Jesus was a prophet, just not the Savior.

Definitely not a prophet…
 

https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/ask-the-expert-who-was-jesus/

 

Quote

The short answer: Judaism does not consider Jesus to be a prophet, the messiah, or the son of God.

But the exact way Jews have spoken about Jesus has, throughout history, had a lot to do with the social and political contexts where they were living. Jews have often been subjects of Christian monarchies and governments, and the tenor of that experience often colored the way particular communities responded to the church as a whole and Jesus in particular.

In the Middle Ages, when many Jews in Europe were experiencing rampant persecution, Toledot Yeshu, a series of derogatory and inflammatory legends about Jesus’ life, became popular within some Jewish communities. Today, as Jews and Christians live in relative harmony, the attitude among most Jews towards Jesus is one of respect, but not religious reverence.

This attitude is reflected in Rabbi Irving Greenberg’s book, For The Sake Of Heaven And Earth: The New Encounter Between Judaism And Christianity, where he refers to Jesus as a “failed messiah,” instead of the usual term “false messiah.”

He explains, “A failed messiah is one who has the right values and upholds the covenant, but does not attain the final goal.” According to Rabbi Greenberg, the message Jesus brought was a good one, but he could not be the Jewish messiah because he did not shepherd in the redemption of the world that Judaism expects will occur in the messianic era.

This more respectful tone is common among Jewish leaders today. When I asked Emily Soloff, the Midwest area director of the American Jewish Committee, for her thoughts about Jesus, she responded: “Jesus was definitely a historical figure…a charismatic community leader who was deeply troubled by what he saw as the failures of his society and spoke eloquently about those failures in the hope of change.”

Dr. Amy-Jill Levine, a contributor to this site and a professor of New Testament studies at Vanderbilt University Divinity School, reminded me that as in any subject, there’s a diverse Jewish response. In an email to me she wrote, “Just as there is no single Jewish view on most matters, there is no single Jewish view about Jesus of Nazareth: some Jews regard him as a wise rabbi, others view him as a heretic; some find inspiration in his teachings, others take offense at his claims.” Dr. Levine also brought up two significant points: A lot of Jews don’t know very much about Jesus or New Testament scholarship. And of course, there are some diverse views of Jesus within Christianity, too.

A lot of interfaith work likes to emphasize what we all have in common, and certainly there are many things that the world’s major faiths do share. But where Jews draw the line is at calling Jesus a prophet or messiah. That’s the point of departure. Beyond that, you’re likely to get many different understandings of Jesus’ life and work within the Jewish community.

 

[Tacenda]

20 hours ago, Calm said:

Definitely not a prophet…
 

https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/ask-the-expert-who-was-jesus/

 

 

You're right Calm, I was mistaken and should have said the Muslims believe He was a prophet.