Main Facts
A landmark comprehensive study released by the Pew Research Center, titled "Tradition and Change Among Latter-day Saints in the U.S.," offers an in-depth look at the religious devotion, societal viewpoints, and demographic nuances defining members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (often referred to as Mormons) across the United States. Based on data collected through the expansive Religious Landscape Study—conducted from July 17, 2023, to March 4, 2024—the findings reveal a complex portrait of a religious community deeply anchored in traditional orthodoxy while simultaneously navigating shifting generational, geographic, and educational dynamics.
The study underscores exceptionally high levels of core religious commitment. Overall, 95% of U.S. Latter-day Saint adults state that religion is very or somewhat important in their lives, with a remarkable 72% emphasizing that it is "very" important. Daily spiritual practices remain robust: 73% of members report praying daily, and 69% attend in-person religious services weekly or more often (climbing to 76% when including those who attend monthly or more).
At the same time, the data exposes nuanced internal divergences. While traditional values on family structures and religious morality remain dominant, notable splits emerge across educational attainment, generational lines, and geographic residence—particularly between members living in the historic Mountain region (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming) and those residing elsewhere in the country.
Chronology of the Study and Context
- July 17, 2023: Pew Research Center officially launches field operations for its comprehensive U.S. Religious Landscape Study, designed to map the shifting contours of American faith, belief systems, and civic attitudes.
- March 4, 2024: Data collection concludes following months of rigorous surveying of thousands of U.S. adults, including a specialized, highly detailed sampling of Latter-day Saint adults nationwide.
- Spring and Summer 2025–2026: Researchers Jonathan Evans and Rebecca Leppert analyze the extensive cross-tabulations, appendix data, and demographic metrics to isolate distinct trends within the Mormon population.
- September 22, 2026: Pew Research Center formally publishes "Tradition and Change Among Latter-day Saints in the U.S.", establishing a baseline benchmark for understanding modern Latter-day Saint identity, theological certainty, and sociopolitical perspectives.
Supporting Data: Deep Dive into the Numbers
The Pew Research dataset supplies granular insights across three broad domains: religious devotion, social and moral perspectives, and civic and cultural views.
1. Religious Commitment and Practice
The foundation of Latter-day Saint life remains anchored in personal piety and institutional participation, though distinct variables affect these metrics:
- Importance of Religion: 95% NET (72% very, 23% somewhat). Women report higher rates of religion being "very" important (78%) compared to men (67%). Notably, those holding a bachelor’s degree or higher report higher "very important" figures (85%) than those with less education (65%). In the Mountain region, 99% of members state religion is important, compared to 90% in other regions.
- Frequency of Prayer: 73% of all adults pray daily, a figure that rises to 80% among those aged 50 and older, 85% among college graduates, and 79% within the Mountain region.
- Worship Attendance: 69% attend in-person services weekly or more frequently, while 7% attend once or twice a month, bringing the monthly participation rate to 76%. College graduates lead weekly attendance at 86%, contrasted with 59% for those with less formal education.
2. Core Theological Beliefs
Orthodox belief in fundamental spiritual concepts remains nearly universal:
- Belief in God: 97% believe in God or a universal spirit, with 76% expressing absolute certainty. Absolute certainty is highest in the Mountain region (81%) and among those aged 50+ (82%).
- Spiritual Reality: 93% believe that "there is something spiritual beyond the natural world, even if we cannot see it," while only 5% assert that the natural world is all that exists.
- The Soul/Spirit: 97% affirm that people possess a soul or spirit in addition to a physical body, with virtually unanimous consensus (99%) found among young adults aged 18–49, college graduates, and Mountain region residents.
3. Social, Moral, and Political Perspectives
While traditional paradigms heavily influence social outlooks, significant generational and regional variations reveal evolving perspectives:
- Homosexuality: Public opinion is evenly split. 46% of Latter-day Saint adults say homosexuality should be accepted by society, while 50% believe it should be discouraged. A generational shift is apparent: 51% of adults aged 18–49 favor societal acceptance, compared to just 39% of those 50 and older. Furthermore, members living outside the Mountain region are significantly more likely to favor acceptance (54%) than those residing within it (39%).
- Family and Workforce Dynamics: A strong majority (79%) believe that children in two-parent households are better off when one parent stays at home—with 41% specifying the mother should stay home and less than 1% pointing to the father (though 35% say it doesn’t matter which parent stays home). Meanwhile, 61% view the increasing presence of women in the workforce as a change for the better.
- Abortion: 69% believe abortion should be illegal in most or all cases, with opposition rising to 77% in the Mountain region and 74% among college graduates. Conversely, 41% of members living outside the Mountain region support legal abortion in most or all cases.
- Public Education and Religion: 64% favor allowing public school teachers to lead classes in prayers that explicitly refer to Jesus, a sentiment shared more intensely by older adults (74% among those 50+) than younger ones (56% among ages 18–49).
- Immigration and Diversity: Views on immigration are evenly divided: 38% view a growing immigrant population as a change for the better, while 38% view it as a change for the worse. However, younger adults (ages 18–49) view immigration much more favorably (47% "better" vs. 28% "worse"). On broader diversity, 76% believe that racial and ethnic diversity strengthens American society, and 65% say the same regarding religious diversity.
- Trust and Community: Only 48% believe that "most people can be trusted," while 51% feel "you can’t be too careful in dealing with people." Concurrently, volunteering remains extraordinarily high, with 72% reporting that they spent time volunteering in the past year—spiking to 91% among college graduates and 80% within the Mountain region.
Official Responses and Scholarly Commentary
The release of the Pew Research Center report has drawn considerable attention from sociologists of religion, cultural analysts, and institutional observers. Because The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is often studied as a unique American-born global faith, researchers Jonathan Evans and Rebecca Leppert emphasized in their citation notes that tracking these shifts provides essential context for understanding how insular religious communities adapt to broader secular and cultural currents in the United States.
While institutional representatives from the LDS Church typically do not issue direct point-by-point policy reactions to independent demographic surveys, church leaders have frequently addressed the tension between maintaining traditional gospel covenants and living in an increasingly pluralistic society. In general conference addresses and public statements, apostles and general officers have continually encouraged members to extend Christian charity and civic engagement to neighbors of all backgrounds—values reflected in the survey’s high marks for community volunteering and appreciation for ethnic and religious diversity.
Independent religious scholars have noted that the data shatters monolithic stereotypes often applied to Latter-day Saints. The stark divide between Mountain West traditionalism and the more moderate or progressive stances held by members residing in other U.S. regions highlights how geographic diaspora influences religious adaptation. Similarly, the openness among younger demographics toward societal acceptance of homosexuality and immigration signals an ongoing internal dialogue among millennial and Generation Z church members.
Implications
The findings of the 2023–2024 Religious Landscape Study carry profound implications for the future trajectory of the Latter-day Saint community in the United States:
- Generational Negotiation of Orthodoxy: While core theological pillars—such as belief in God, the reality of the spirit, and the foundational importance of religion—remain virtually unshaken among younger generations, youth and young adults are navigating modern social issues (such as LGBTQ+ rights and immigration) with notably different perspectives than their elders. Church leadership faces the ongoing task of maintaining doctrinal unity while pastoral care addresses the varied worldview of a globally connected youth.
- Geographic Decentralization: As the church continues to grow outside its traditional Intermountain West stronghold, the experiences of Latter-day Saints living in "other regions" point toward a distinct subculture. These members, who exhibit slightly higher openness to societal diversity and differing social policies, may serve as a bridge between orthodox church teachings and pluralistic American civic life.
- The Education Factor: The data reveals that higher educational attainment among Latter-day Saints does not correlate with secularization—as is often observed in other mainline Christian denominations. Instead, college-educated members exhibit exceptionally high rates of religious observance, scripture study, and volunteering, even as they hold diverse views on specific sociopolitical topics. This suggests that intellectual engagement within the faith does not erode institutional commitment, presenting a unique model of resilient religious identity in the 21st century.
