Trib Article Re: Status of the Church

[smac97]

Latter-day Saints among the most devout of any U.S. religious group — and their efforts appear to be paying off

Some excerpts:

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A colossal new study on religion in the United States suggests at least a temporary slowdown in Christianity’s decline and flatlining in the once rocketing growth of the religiously unaffiliated.

Also this: When it comes to performing many of the daily and weekly reps of religious devotion, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are practically peerless.

Take worship service attendance. According to the Pew Research Center’s newly released Religious Landscape Survey of nearly 37,000 Americans, including 565 self-identified Latter-day Saints, members of the Utah-based faith are far and away number one.

Reading scripture outside of church? Also tops.

Same goes for attending a regular scripture study or prayer group, praying daily and instructing their children in the faith tradition.

In many cases, the competition wasn’t even close, with Latter-day Saints coming in sometimes 10 or more percentage points higher than the next faith group (typically evangelicals followed by Black Protestants).

When I was a kid, we sometimes joked that there were only three answers to any question from a seminary teacher: "Go to church," "Say your prayers," "Read your scriptures."

I think there was, and is, a kernel of truth in this humor.  These small and simple daily/regular observances go a long way in maintaining faith.  The article goes on to address that:

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What’s more, all that hard work appears to be paying off. According to the same study, Latter-day Saints also report the highest rates of spiritual peace and experiences with forces from beyond this world.

...

Equally noteworthy is the fact that the study relied on individuals self-identifying as a Latter-day Saint, practically ensuring findings most reflective of the faith’s more observant — as opposed to the legions found in the church’s rolls but not in its pews.

Well, yes.  This is sort of like people who have a gym membership.  The benefits come not from merely holding the membership, but from the use of it.

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“Overall,” Maffly-Kipp concluded, “these findings don’t really surprise me.”

Church attendance a ‘standout’

Maffly-Kipp did spy a couple of statistical “standouts,” however, including rates of church attendance, a practice also stressed by faith leaders.

Of those Latter-day Saints polled, a sky-high 76% reported attending services in person at least monthly. Perhaps even more impressive was the 69% who said they found themselves in the pews weekly or more.

Their closest competitor, evangelicals, clocked in at 60% and 50%, respectively. Zoom out to the national average and those numbers sink to 33% and 25%.

Regular attendance seems to be an important ingredient.

Quote

The Pew study isn’t the first to suggest that Latter-day Saints are super-attenders. A 2024 Gallup report put the percentage of weekly or almost weekly attendees at 67%. This finding matched up neatly with a second study published last year, this one by the B.H. Roberts Foundation, which logged weekly attendance at 71% for those living in the “Mormon Corridor” and 65% for those without.

Of course, how often people say they attend worship services and how often they actually do are two different things.

Sure enough, yet another 2024 report — one based not on self-reporting but cellphone data harvested from millions of Americans just before the pandemic — stated the true percentage of Latter-day Saints who attend regularly may be closer to 15%.

Notably, however, this was still three times what that study produced for the overall worship service activity rate of U.S. adults, a mere 5% — compared to the 30% Gallup measured for 2021 to 2023.

In other words, no matter the real number, Latter-day Saints appear to smoke the competition in terms of turnout.

Everything is relative.  I hope we as Latter-day Saints improve ourselves.

Quote

The other finding that caught Maffly-Kipp’s eye was the especially high rate of personal scripture study Latter-day Saints reported in the Pew study when compared to other religious groups.

Nearly 60% of church members said they read their scriptures outside of religious services at least weekly, compared to 51% of evangelicals (once again the next highest group) and 22% of all those polled. Add in other devotional materials those numbers jump even higher, to 76% for Latter-day Saints and 66% for evangelicals (as well as Black Protestants).

Then again, this is yet another behavior that Latter-day Saint leaders stress, whereas, she noted, “not all Christians emphasize scripture reading as crucial to their faith.”

Huh.  I would think that reading the Bible would be a mainstay of Christian living.

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Jon Bialecki, an anthropologist who has studied Mormonism, hypothesized that part of the reason for Latter-day Saints’ adherence to this practice (or at least their self-reported adherence), is the result of “institutional design.”

Seminary (a scripture study program for teens), institute (designed for college-age members), the training missionaries receive, and “Come, Follow Me,” a churchwide scripture study curriculum, work to “condition members to view scripture study as an expected and routine part of religious life,” Bialecki suggested.

Moreover, Latter-day Saint rank and file, not professional clergy, are the ones responsible for producing weekly sermons and lessons. It’s an approach, he said, that “necessitates deeper personal engagement with scripture in order to teach and lead.”

I think this is a correct assessment.

Quote

Assuming the new study’s numbers are more or less reflective of real life, Latter-day Saints are reaping the rewards of a rigorous spiritual practice.

The report found that, on average, 64% of members feel a deep sense of spiritual peace weekly or more often. Evangelicals were, yet again, next up, at 60%. The national average was 40%.

The percentages for feeling the presence of something from beyond this world weekly or more often were similar, with Latter-day Saints registering at 56%, evangelicals at 52% and the average U.S. adult at 33%.

Bialecki posed a few explanations for this.

First, Latter-day Saints have, he said, “a well-established vocabulary” to describe encounters with the divine (“burning in the bosom,” “still, small voice” and “promptings,” to name a few favorites). This doesn’t just make talking about these events easier; it also “normalizes and reinforces them within the community.”

Second, Latter-day Saints are taught to view a range of experiences, including subtle feelings, as spiritual occurrences, compared to traditions that reserve this label for the more “ecstatic” encounters.

“This is not to say that Mormons do not have profound or intense religious experiences, nor does it imply that Mormon spirituality is in any way superficial,” Bialecki clarified. “Rather, Mormon religious life is structured around frequent, small affirmations of faith — a series of minor but consistent reassurances that collectively serve to confirm spiritual conviction.”

Also accurate.

Thoughts?

Thanks,

-Smac

[Nofear]

Well, here I come to post the article and Smac beat me to the punch. And we do all this while still using our cell phones at church.

 

[Robert F. Smith]

56 minutes ago, smac97 said:

Latter-day Saints among the most devout of any U.S. religious group — and their efforts appear to be paying off

..................

... "Go to church," "Say your prayers," "Read your scriptures."

............................

As the article points out, this is no surprise, and merely confirms what past surveys have shown.

Of course, LDS stats would be less than those of Ulra-Orthodox Jews, Amish, or Hutterites.  What should be surprising is that LDS do that without trained, professional clergy.

[cujo22]

I think there are two important factors that throw off the statistics for LDS relative to other churches (especially compared to orthodox/catholic faiths), and these have both negatives and positives to it...

1. Our church IS attendance. Our church IS participation in callings, etc. I think this stems ultimately from the lay leadership model. Mostly I think this provides mostly positives. A negative might be that I do sometimes regret that it feels like there isn't a space in our church for casual members. This extends to people who might diverge on doctrinal claims as well. But relative to the survey I mostly just talking about people who just want to come to church but don't want calling or I don't know what else. These people don't usually keep coming. I know catholics who feel as catholic as anyone but they don't participate a ton, not going to weekly mass or whatever just holidays, but their faith/religion remains an important part of their lives in their minds. I think that's much more rare in LDS because they end up looking around and sensing that they don't really belong here. I could be wrong on this. I do think it's kind of a shame that the structure/functionality of the church is such that casual members essentially don't exist. I'm exaggerating I think but hopefully this makes some sense. I think there would be value added to the church and potential new attendees to have these more casual observers attending. I think it would benefit everyone. On more thought, this point doesn't throw off the statistics, it just provides an explanation. 
2. Another factor is that people who completely leave our church are less likely to mention/claim to be members of the church. I served a mission in Ukraine. Virtually everyone identified (what a great word ) as Orthodox even if they haven't been near a church in decades. I think you see that in catholic-majority countries as well. It's almost an accepted part of their DNA or family history or national heritage or something. When someone calls for a survey and a baptized member of our (LDS) church who hasn't attended in 20 years or left angrily 4 years ago is asked if they belong to a church, I think the answer is much more likely to be "none" where in the similar scenario a catholic would respond "catholic". So this point skews the numbers a bit I bet.

[cujo22]

1 hour ago, Robert F. Smith said:

What should be surprising is that LDS do that without trained, professional clergy.

I think my point #1 is suggesting the opposite. The lay clergy aspect is exactly why we have more attendance/scripture-reading/praying.

[Calm]

3 hours ago, Robert F. Smith said:

What should be surprising is that LDS do that without trained, professional clergy.

Do the Amish and Hutterites have trained clergy?  I was under the impression they did not, even if they served for the rest of their lives (wasn’t that also how it was in in the early days of the restored church? When did that change, anyone know?)

[Calm]

1 hour ago, cujo22 said:

casual members essentially don't exist.

Except when it comes to ministering…and their involvement there depends on their own willingness and the commitment of the minister assigned to them.  And nowadays what that looks like can be highly variable.

[Calm]

5 hours ago, cujo22 said:

I think my point #1 is suggesting the opposite. The lay clergy aspect is exactly why we have more attendance/scripture-reading/praying.

Especially with the rotation of service because it allows more people to experience the sense of being an important, needed part of the community and I would except that to linger, maybe even become a fixed part of their attitude towards the Church.

Edited February 26, 2025 by Calm

[let’s roll]

Not everyone takes their mobile device to Church.  I don’t.

[The Nehor]

It is impressive but a lot of the high numbers are due to a lot less people who are technically members not identifying as members.

Church members and Jehovah’s Witnesses have been winning out on scripture reading for a long time.

[Robert F. Smith]

29 minutes ago, Calm said:

Do the Amish and Hutterites have trained clergy?  I was under the impression they did not, even if they served for the rest of their lives (wasn’t that also how it was in in the early days of the restored church? When did that change, anyone know?)

Yes.  Aside from Sidney Rigdon and maybe Parley Pratt, no one in the Restoration was trained clergy.  However, Presbyterians and Methodists had trained clergy in those days (and of course Anglicans and Catholics).  I imagine that Hutterites and Amish have some sort of formal training, but don't actually know.

What should surprise everyone is that the LDS do it so successfully without the leadership of professional clergy.  Most other areas of life prosper best with trained, professional bosses.  Yet the Brethren who run our Church have no such training or degrees.

[Robert F. Smith]

24 minutes ago, let’s roll said:

Not everyone takes their mobile device to Church.  I don’t.

Yep. I used to leave my cellphone at home back in the day when the 2014 stats were assembled based on phone tag.  I took by large quad to Church, and so did my stake pres.  Now he and I never have our quads, cause we can easily access scriptures and talks on our phones.  That 15% attendance figure was plainly nonsense.

[Robert F. Smith]

8 minutes ago, The Nehor said:

It is impressive but a lot of the high numbers are due to a lot less people who are technically members not identifying as members.

....................................

However, that is also true of all other churches, which quashes any distinctions.

[Okrahomer]

5 minutes ago, Robert F. Smith said:

I imagine that Hutterites and Amish have some sort of formal training, but don't actually know.

From ChatGPT:  

• Amish: Clergy chosen by lot, no formal training, lifelong position.

• Hutterites: Clergy chosen by vote, some informal religious education, lifelong position.

[Robert F. Smith]

2 hours ago, cujo22 said:

I think my point #1 is suggesting the opposite. The lay clergy aspect is exactly why we have more attendance/scripture-reading/praying.

Correct.  It turns out to be an advantage for the LDS.  What I meant to say is that it should be surprising by conventional standards.

[Robert F. Smith]

2 minutes ago, Okrahomer said:

From ChatGPT:  

• Amish: Clergy chosen by lot, no formal training, lifelong position.

• Hutterites: Clergy chosen by vote, some informal religious education, lifelong position.

Thanks, Okrahomer.  Consistent with success for LDS and such other groups.

[InCognitus]

47 minutes ago, Calm said:

Do the Amish and Hutterites have trained clergy?

Another question relevant to the survey is:  Do the Amish and Hutterites use cell phones? 

I have a good Anabaptist friend (related to the Hutterites), and the Anabaptists have a lay clergy.  I met him because he worked in IT for one of my clients, and he taught classes (and still teaches classes) at his church. 

[Doctor Steuss]

21 minutes ago, Okrahomer said:

From ChatGPT:  

• Amish: Clergy chosen by lot, no formal training, lifelong position.

[...]

For the Amish, it's pretty cool how they do it (or at least it's cool to me).  Both men and women take part in the nomination process, and women have the same voting power as the men; however, only men can be nominated.  IIRC, the number of votes needed to be nominated is set by the individual communities (there's no standard).  Someone will write a scripture on a piece of paper (which will act as "the lot"), and then put it inside a hymn book.  They put together enough hymn books for all the nominees, and then each nominee takes one and opens it up.  When opening the hymn books, the person who chose the book with the scripture on it has their lot "fall" on them, basically as the Lord wills it.

ETA:  Now I'm questing myself as I think about this (I hate my brain).  I'm not entirely sure there's a scripture written on the paper, but I'm 99.9% sure they use hymn books for disguising the "lot."

Edited February 26, 2025 by Doctor Steuss

[The Nehor]

54 minutes ago, Robert F. Smith said:

However, that is also true of all other churches, which quashes any distinctions.

No, it is not. You have a large number of people identifying as Catholic who haven’t attended in years. Same with a lot of Protestant faiths. Judaism even more so. There are some people who identify as “Mormon” without attending but not nearly as many. Part of this is our culture of expected levels of proactive participation. Part is worthiness requirements. If I stopped attending I probably wouldn’t identify as a member anymore. I have pretty much internalized that I shouldn’t.

[Okrahomer]

2 hours ago, Doctor Steuss said:

Both men and women take part in the nomination process, and women have the same voting power as the men;

Per Wikipedia:  Women and children hold no formal voting power over decision-making in a colony, but they often hold influence on decision-making through the informal processes of a colony's social framework.^[48]

 

Again from ChatGPT (and assuming it knows what it’s talking about):  

Hutterite women do not vote on the selection of clergy. In Hutterite communities, only baptized male members participate in decision-making processes, including the election of ministers and other religious leaders. The selection is typically done through a combination of discussion, nomination, and sometimes the casting of lots, but it remains an all-male process. Women have significant roles within the community but do not have a formal voice in church governance…Hutterite women cannot nominate clergy.

Edited February 26, 2025 by Okrahomer

[Okrahomer]

2 hours ago, Doctor Steuss said:

I hate my brain)

You and me both! 🤓

[Doctor Steuss]

29 minutes ago, Okrahomer said:

Per Wikipedia:  Women and children hold no formal voting power over decision-making in a colony, but they often hold influence on decision-making through the informal processes of a colony's social framework.^[48]

 

Again from ChatGPT (and assuming it knows what it’s talking about):  

Hutterite women do not vote on the selection of clergy. In Hutterite communities, only baptized male members participate in decision-making processes, including the election of ministers and other religious leaders. The selection is typically done through a combination of discussion, nomination, and sometimes the casting of lots, but it remains an all-male process. Women have significant roles within the community but do not have a formal voice in church governance…Hutterite women cannot nominate clergy.

For clarity, I was only talking specifically about the Amish (which is why I edited out the Hutterites from the post I quoted).

 

Quote

 All the members, both men and women, will pass by a small room where the bishop and
minister and deacon are closeted to express their personal vote. The bishop tallies the votes; those
who receive two or more votes will be included in the lot

https://ohiosamishcountry.com/articles/amish-leadership

Quote

 Church members (both male and female) nominate male church members for the open leadership position, and those who receive three or more votes (the number varies in different communities) enter the lot.

https://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/social-organization/leadership/

[Calm]

8 hours ago, smac97 said:

According to the Pew Research Center’s newly released Religious Landscape Survey

I assume this is the actual section dealing with LDS for those who would rather read the study than the Trib’s interpretation (I haven’t read the article yet).

https://www.pewresearch.org/religious-landscape-study/religious-tradition/latter-day-saint-mormon/

[Okrahomer]

1 hour ago, Doctor Steuss said:

For clarity, I was only talking specifically about the Amish (which is why I edited out the Hutterites from the post I quoted).

Ah.  Apologies.  I misread.

[let’s roll]

4 hours ago, Robert F. Smith said:

Yep. I used to leave my cellphone at home back in the day when the 2014 stats were assembled based on phone tag.  I took by large quad to Church, and so did my stake pres.  Now he and I never have our quads, cause we can easily access scriptures and talks on our phones.  That 15% attendance figure was plainly nonsense.

Just force of habit for me now since I’m retired but while I was working Ieaving it at home improved my mental health…lawyers have clients who expect them to be available 24/7/365 (especially when you practice in DC and LA) and while you can try to manage those expectations, you still get calls every day at any hour.  Each Sunday I would change my VM message to say I was worshipping and left my phone at home…three hours of respite.