According to the Pew U.S. Religious Landscape Survey the replacement rate of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has dropped to 80%. That means that for every five members who leave Mormonism behind four new converts join the Church. In 2001, the CUNY Religious Identification Survey had found…
Bending the rules til they break (BYU continues)
The week sped by, and the next thing I knew I was getting ready to go up to Jake’s uncle’s cabin with Cindy and Amy. Cindy and Amy’s Aunt Julie lent us her car, and Cindy drove us up following Jake’s map. Read the rest of the story รยป
That’s It! I’m Going Back!
I just finished scrolling through the reader responses to the Danzig affair in the Trib. Granted, it’s the Salt Lake Tribune and not the Deseret News but I have to admit that I am shocked. May be, it’s just me but the tone of the discussion seems to have changed….
Pew Religion Survey
The Pew Forum on Religion and Society has just published the results of a poll with 35,000 American respondents. That’s a lot of respondents and will be a treasure trove of information. Such a large sample size will allow analysts to study various religious subgroups with reasonable sample size. Here…
The Lack of Fellowship
I am sure that some of you have seen Peggy Fletcher Stack’s report about Peter and Mary Danzig who felt that they had to resign from the LDS Church to follow their conscience. Those of you who know a little bit about me, will not be surprised to learn that…
blast from my mission past
Here’s a fun little article from a Ghanian convert to Mormonism. Oh the memories. I remember using all of those same Biblical verses to defend Mormonism on my mission in Central America. Does anyone else remember doing this (or are you still doing it)? I have to admit I’m much…
Two articles on Mormon culture
I caught this article in the student paper on campus today and nearly wet myself: Utah not only allows guns on campuses, but now wants to make it possible for gun carriers to brandish them openly. Welcome to the Wild West! Is this a Mormon thing, or just whack job…
Returned Missionary’s Political Conversion
In the past, as an Evangelical Christian and as a Mormon, I voiced a lot of support for the Republican party. For me, at that time, it wasn’t a matter of fiscal, domestic, or international policy; it was a matter of emotionally supporting the imposition my accepted morality on the…
A change of generations…
I hope you’ll be willing to indulge me for a little family brag here. ๐
Confidences, confessions, and advice (BYU continues)
I woke up to the most incredible feeling of dread. In those few moments of re-orientation while reaching consciousness, the full force of what had happened last night hit me. I ran my fingers along the side of my head, feeling the faint stubble on my fingertips and hardly believing…