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The Next Mormons: How Millennials Are Changing the LDS Church
American Millennials--the generation born in the 1980s and 1990s--have been leaving organized religion in unprecedented numbers. For a long time, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was an exception: nearly three-quarters of people who grew up Mormon stayed that way into adulthood. In The Next Mormons, Jana Riess demonstrates that things are starting to change.
Drawing on a large-scale national study of four generations of current and former Mormons as well as dozens of in-depth personal interviews, Riess explores the religious beliefs and behaviors of young adult Mormons, finding that while their levels of belief remain strong, their institutional loyalties are less certain than their parents' and grandparents'. For a growing number of Millennials, the tensions between the Church's conservative ideals and their generation's commitment to individualism and pluralism prove too high, causing them to leave the faith-often experiencing deep personal anguish in the process. Those who remain within the fold are attempting to carefully balance the Church's strong emphasis on the traditional family with their generation's more inclusive definition that celebrates same-sex couples and women's equality. Mormon families are changing too. More Mormons are remaining single, parents are having fewer children, and more women are working outside the home than a generation ago.
The Next Mormons offers a portrait of a generation navigating between traditional religion and a rapidly changing culture.
Drawing on a large-scale national study of four generations of current and former Mormons as well as dozens of in-depth personal interviews, Riess explores the religious beliefs and behaviors of young adult Mormons, finding that while their levels of belief remain strong, their institutional loyalties are less certain than their parents' and grandparents'. For a growing number of Millennials, the tensions between the Church's conservative ideals and their generation's commitment to individualism and pluralism prove too high, causing them to leave the faith-often experiencing deep personal anguish in the process. Those who remain within the fold are attempting to carefully balance the Church's strong emphasis on the traditional family with their generation's more inclusive definition that celebrates same-sex couples and women's equality. Mormon families are changing too. More Mormons are remaining single, parents are having fewer children, and more women are working outside the home than a generation ago.
The Next Mormons offers a portrait of a generation navigating between traditional religion and a rapidly changing culture.
328 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2019
131 people are currently reading
1585 people want to read
About the author
Jana Riess
26 books92 followersJana Riess is the author, co-author, or editor of many books, including:
"The Next Mormons: How Millennials Are Changing the LDS Church"
"The Prayer Wheel: A Daily Guide to Renewing Your Faith with a Rediscovered Spiritual Practice"
"Flunking Sainthood: A Year of Breaking the Sabbath, Forgetting to Pray, and Still Loving My Neighbor"
"The Twible: All the Chapters of the Bible in 140 Characters or Less . . . . Now with 68% More Humor!"
She is a senior columnist for Religion News Service and holds degrees in religion from Wellesley College and Princeton Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. in American religious history from Columbia University. She speaks often to media about issues pertaining to religion in America.
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March 8, 2019
Since this book is largely about minority groups in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I should preface how I fit: I’m male, white, and married; I live in Utah, feel confident in my beliefs, and consider myself an “active member” — which is different from many of profiled member groups, including: women, LGBTQ, nonwhite, and single members. Since I didn't identify with many of those groups' struggles, The Next Mormons was great at building empathy.
This book focuses on a study that polls members (and former members) about a variety of topics ranging from why people stay in or leave the church, how different generations interpret policies, and political leanings. My ward is predominantly Millennial and Baby Boomer, so it was insightful to see generational differences broken down in numbers. It’s easy for me to equate my church experience as the norm, so seeing the broad data was useful, especially so in a church that relies on multi-generational relationships.
I would recommend this to church leaders and many members, but not to everyone. While I found the data and analysis mostly objective, there is an emphasis on content that is critical (in the form of empirical data, interviews, and some author analysis). I think it’s important for potential readers to understand the distinction between church culture, policy, and doctrine. During President Nelson’s leadership and the rise of Millennial there have been a lot changes and critiques are mostly focused on culture and policy.
As a church member, there’s a careful balance between improving church culture vs. “steadying the ark.” The same balance exists in sustaining and supporting in church leadership and organization while acknowledging imperfection and fallibility. It's worth considering what amount of searching for and emphasizing issues can be damaging (or distracting) to faith — and how do you balance that while not turning a blind eye to problems?
For someone who is wrestling doubts, reading stories about why people left the church will probably not help build faith. But for leaders, it can be very productive to better understand why people leave. And to be fair, there is also insightful content about why people stay in the church. Basically, I recommend being in the right headspace while reading — I think in matters of faith readers will often find reasons to feed their doubt or faith depending on what they are looking for.
Overall, much of the content was fascinating. I highlighted over a hundred passages and it was especially helpful to better understand minority groups I’m not a part of. People interested in this book should also check out The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion and Blind Spot: The Hidden Biases of Good People.
This book focuses on a study that polls members (and former members) about a variety of topics ranging from why people stay in or leave the church, how different generations interpret policies, and political leanings. My ward is predominantly Millennial and Baby Boomer, so it was insightful to see generational differences broken down in numbers. It’s easy for me to equate my church experience as the norm, so seeing the broad data was useful, especially so in a church that relies on multi-generational relationships.
I would recommend this to church leaders and many members, but not to everyone. While I found the data and analysis mostly objective, there is an emphasis on content that is critical (in the form of empirical data, interviews, and some author analysis). I think it’s important for potential readers to understand the distinction between church culture, policy, and doctrine. During President Nelson’s leadership and the rise of Millennial there have been a lot changes and critiques are mostly focused on culture and policy.
As a church member, there’s a careful balance between improving church culture vs. “steadying the ark.” The same balance exists in sustaining and supporting in church leadership and organization while acknowledging imperfection and fallibility. It's worth considering what amount of searching for and emphasizing issues can be damaging (or distracting) to faith — and how do you balance that while not turning a blind eye to problems?
For someone who is wrestling doubts, reading stories about why people left the church will probably not help build faith. But for leaders, it can be very productive to better understand why people leave. And to be fair, there is also insightful content about why people stay in the church. Basically, I recommend being in the right headspace while reading — I think in matters of faith readers will often find reasons to feed their doubt or faith depending on what they are looking for.
Overall, much of the content was fascinating. I highlighted over a hundred passages and it was especially helpful to better understand minority groups I’m not a part of. People interested in this book should also check out The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion and Blind Spot: The Hidden Biases of Good People.
April 25, 2021
Lengthy, detailed analyses of the statistical findings of an online survey of 1,156 self-identified Mormons and 540 former Mormons with the interest, time and stamina to respond to 130 or so questions assessing their relationship to Mormonism. Because the questions interrogate how much respondents believe and support LDS doctrine and policy, discussions of LDS problems and mistakes are a major focus.
This is a work that exemplifies insider baseball. It will be valuable to people who are invested in the institutional well-being of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, either because they want to see the church stop hemorrhaging members, or because they find its policies on things like gender or the rights of LGBTQIA+ people intolerable and are working anxiously to persuade the church to change those policies.
Despite the fact that it will appeal primarily if not only to insiders, it seems to have been written for an audience of extremely ignorant outsiders: it's replete with extensive, minute explanations of LDS policies, practices and doctrines that will be redundant and unnecessary for anyone familiar with the church. The constant lengthy (and occasionally inaccurate*) explanations of things I have known for years if not decades, combined with the copious statistical data, made this unbearably tedious for me and essentially unreadable.
*a few examples of errors I found:
page 35: "[Religious training] starts with Primary, which until 1980 was a weekday after-school activity that was more about doing crafts and singing songs than imbibing doctrine." No. I attended after-school Primary; Riess did not. It involved plenty of "imbibing doctrine," in that there was a religious lesson every week, and while there were crafts, they were emphasized more during the summer, when Primary was on a weekday morning and lasted 90 minutes instead of an hour. It's true that in 5th and 6th grade girls were taught to embroider, crochet and knit, and we were expected to embroider a pre-printed pattern on a banner also printed with the 13 Articles of Faith, but we were also expected to memorize all 13 and prove that we could recite them verbatim from memory. But was a history of Primary even necessary? The book would have been better--shorter, more accurate--if Riess had not included the commentary about what Primary was before 1980.
page 57: "if all your extended family and close friends were LDS, a temple wedding was a celebration everyone could attend, with no feelings of loss or grief at anyone being excluded." Nope! I was a bridesmaid in a couple of temple weddings I couldn't attend, because even though I was a faithful Mormon at that point, I was only 19 and not allowed to go through the temple because I wasn't getting married or going on a mission.
page 82: "Getting married in the temple is predicated on both partners either being virgins or having undertaken a repentance process under a bishop's supervision to qualify them for temple worthiness." Again, nope. Neither virginity nor repentance is required for someone who previously had sex only within marriage but has since been widowed or divorced and remained celibate thereafter.
These aren't abstruse points of doctrine, either. These are commonplace elements of the lived experience of many people Riess claims to speak for. Given that, she can take the effort and care to figure out how to be accurate--or, if she can't see these nuances on her own, she can hire a fact-checker who will help her get it right.
I suspect I would have found many other errors had I not lost patience with the work and become unwilling to read it quite so carefully.
This is a work that exemplifies insider baseball. It will be valuable to people who are invested in the institutional well-being of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, either because they want to see the church stop hemorrhaging members, or because they find its policies on things like gender or the rights of LGBTQIA+ people intolerable and are working anxiously to persuade the church to change those policies.
Despite the fact that it will appeal primarily if not only to insiders, it seems to have been written for an audience of extremely ignorant outsiders: it's replete with extensive, minute explanations of LDS policies, practices and doctrines that will be redundant and unnecessary for anyone familiar with the church. The constant lengthy (and occasionally inaccurate*) explanations of things I have known for years if not decades, combined with the copious statistical data, made this unbearably tedious for me and essentially unreadable.
*a few examples of errors I found:
page 35: "[Religious training] starts with Primary, which until 1980 was a weekday after-school activity that was more about doing crafts and singing songs than imbibing doctrine." No. I attended after-school Primary; Riess did not. It involved plenty of "imbibing doctrine," in that there was a religious lesson every week, and while there were crafts, they were emphasized more during the summer, when Primary was on a weekday morning and lasted 90 minutes instead of an hour. It's true that in 5th and 6th grade girls were taught to embroider, crochet and knit, and we were expected to embroider a pre-printed pattern on a banner also printed with the 13 Articles of Faith, but we were also expected to memorize all 13 and prove that we could recite them verbatim from memory. But was a history of Primary even necessary? The book would have been better--shorter, more accurate--if Riess had not included the commentary about what Primary was before 1980.
page 57: "if all your extended family and close friends were LDS, a temple wedding was a celebration everyone could attend, with no feelings of loss or grief at anyone being excluded." Nope! I was a bridesmaid in a couple of temple weddings I couldn't attend, because even though I was a faithful Mormon at that point, I was only 19 and not allowed to go through the temple because I wasn't getting married or going on a mission.
page 82: "Getting married in the temple is predicated on both partners either being virgins or having undertaken a repentance process under a bishop's supervision to qualify them for temple worthiness." Again, nope. Neither virginity nor repentance is required for someone who previously had sex only within marriage but has since been widowed or divorced and remained celibate thereafter.
These aren't abstruse points of doctrine, either. These are commonplace elements of the lived experience of many people Riess claims to speak for. Given that, she can take the effort and care to figure out how to be accurate--or, if she can't see these nuances on her own, she can hire a fact-checker who will help her get it right.
I suspect I would have found many other errors had I not lost patience with the work and become unwilling to read it quite so carefully.
June 19, 2019
When I first heard Jana Riess was undertaking research about Millennial Mormons, I was ecstatic. I couldn’t wait for this book to be released. And lucky for me and my grad student budget, they had a copy in the Madison Public Library system. I wish there were still due date logs in the back of library books so I could know how many other times it’s been checked out already, or if I’m the first. Even more, I wish I could know who the other local readers are. Because the truth is that the audience for this book is a little hard to define. It’s written in such a way that it’s wholly approachable to non-specialists and folks who don’t know much about Mormonism. But the topic seems so niche—so “inside baseball,” as another reviewer mentioned—that I wonder who’s picking it up outside of the Mormon reading community. Hopefully some other religious studies folks are taking notice, too, since I think Riess’s findings are important and have broader implications for religion in 21st-century America.
The research in the book is based on the Next Mormons Survey, a Qualtrics questionnaire administered to 1,696 current and former Mormons, along with personal interviews conducted with 63 additional Mormons (not respondents of the survey). Riess details in the final section of the book how they secured a fairly representative sample (and corrected for imbalances with a method called poststratification, p. 242), and she is quick to note throughout the book when a given sample size is too small to generalize or draw definitive conclusions from the results. While reading, I was impressed with how forthright she is in explaining her methodology, discussing how the findings compared with previous research undertaken by Pew and others, and pointing out any limitations or areas that could use further analysis.
Throughout the book, Riess is most interested in illuminating the experience of Millennials by comparing survey results across generations (Boomer/Silent, Gen X, and Millennial). She also does a lot of current Mormon/former Mormon juxtapositions, and given that the final chapter is “Exodus: Millennial Former Mormons,” it’s clear that another prevailing concern for her is disaffiliation. This is central to any discussion of younger Mormons because Millennials are leaving the church in greater numbers than previous generations, so issues of faith crisis and disaffiliation are key to understanding Millennials’ experience. Even for those who stay, they are much more likely than their parents to have Mormon spouses, siblings, and friends who leave. This is one of the many reasons I think all Mormons, especially leadership, should spend some time with this book.
Many of the findings in The Next Mormons may seem intuitive and, therefore, unsurprising. However, I think it’s important to have supporting evidence for folk wisdom that circulates (and there’s a lot of that in Mormonism). In some cases, prevailing “common sense” beliefs are debunked by survey results. For example, though church leaders have long worried about the corrupting influence of college campuses, it turns out that more education correlates with greater church retention and even orthodoxy. (The one exception cited is women with an advanced academic degree, who are actually more likely to leave, see pp. 106–107.) Another interesting finding is that Millennial children of stay-at-home mothers were more likely to leave the church as adults than those with working mothers (pp. 107–108). Of course, the point here isn’t to shame anyone for their choices, but it’s interesting to note that the fears surrounding mothers entering the workforce in the latter half of the 20th century turned out to be unfounded.
Other findings in the book are what you might expect, but often with a little twist. Even the headline issue, that Millennial Mormons are leaving the church in greater numbers, is paired with the finding that Millennials who do stay are both devout and more likely to express doubt than their elders. The key is not to misinterpret that doubt as necessarily signaling a lack of faith or commitment, but simply a feature of Millennials’ religious lives. Riess does a masterful job of describing such generational characteristics (some of which may immediately sound the alarms for many older Mormons) without resorting to clichés, offering the reader a path to sympathy and understanding for the reported beliefs and behaviors that may deviate from expectation.
Speaking of which, the most surprising thing about this book for me was how much uncertainty in LDS teachings was expressed in the overall survey results across all generations. Even foundational Christian belief statements like “God is real” had lower reported levels of full certainty than I would have expected: 86% of Boomer/Silents, 76% of GenXers, 68% of Millennials (p. 17). I’m not a social scientist, so I don’t know the best practices for extrapolating these statistics, but I think this means it’s possible that up to 30 out of 100 members of a given ward or stake aren’t 100% sure God is real. That’s huge. That matters. I’d say it requires a different approach to testifying and ministering than the current status quo.
The reported uncertainty is even higher for LDS-specific teachings. For example, the statement “The LDS First Presidency members and apostles are God’s prophets on the earth today” has full confidence from 67% of Boomer/Silents, 55% of GenXers, and 53% of Millennials (p. 19). Those numbers seem low to me, even as someone who knows a lot of Mormons with varied beliefs, but it’s unsurprising that many would normally keep quiet about these doubts because of enormous pressure to perform faith and belief in a certain way, especially depending on your family, friends, and job/education (for example, being at a Church-owned school).
This particular faith tenet—the authority of church leadership—is a recurring theme of The Next Mormons, as issues of authority and obedience appear to be at the root of Mormon doubt and disaffiliation, especially for Millennials. Even among LGBT former Mormons, who could readily cite LGBT issues as their primary reason for leaving, top concerns also included “the church’s lack of financial transparency; emphasis on conformity and obedience; strong culture of political conservatism; and excommunications of feminists, intellectuals, and activities” (142). “In other words,” Riess writes, “for LGBT Mormons, leaving the church is never ‘just’ about LGBT issues per se. It’s that those issues strike at the very heart of Mormon ideas of authority” (142).
The twin issues of authority and obedience were also relevant in the discussion of evolving gender roles. See chapter 5 for more on this. For now, I’ll just leave you with the money quote about the importance of having women in church leadership: “Why does women’s religious leadership matter? … [W]omen who attend congregations in which women make up at least half of the religious leadership have higher levels of religious belief, identity, and ‘efficacy’ (confidence that their opinions matter in their congregations) than other women. This effect is not limited to how women feel and behave religiously, but extends to other areas of their lives. For example, the presence of women as religious leaders in female respondents’ childhoods contributed to better educational and socioeconomic outcomes for those women as adults, even after controlling for other factors. The positive results were particularly marked for women with more liberal theological and political views—the very ones who may be, in Mormonism at least, more likely to simply leave the church than to continue to chafe at restrictions they feel within it” (100).
Other major themes treated include missionary experience, the temple, gender, race, and social and political views. I was especially interested in the chapter on single Mormons (ch 4) because I’ve been swimming in those waters for a long time, and I think it’s also a major site of resistance for young Mormons because of how never-married “singles” (who make up about 20% of the adult church) are treated and counseled by both membership and leadership, at the local level all the way to the top. The pervasive church message that single adults are “just biding our time until we get married, and that’s when our ‘real’ lives will begin” (78) is devastating to unmarried Mormons in their 20s, 30s, and beyond as they spend precious years and even decades in this “waiting” phase, wondering what their purpose is and making major life decisions (career, education, travel, city/state relocation) based on an anxious calculus of what is most likely to lead to marriage. Many single women in the church move to Utah or stay there long after their college education because they believe, or are told, that the dating pool is better there. Consider, though, that while there are more never-married Mormon men than women nationally, “[i]n Utah, never-married women who were active in the church outnumbered their male counterparts by more than two to one” (77), challenging conventional wisdom for single women to flock to Utah for marriage prospects within the faith.
In terms of marital status and disaffiliation: “Statistically, single people are more likely to leave Mormonism or become inactive than married people” (81). I suspect this is because single people don’t feel like they have a place in Mormonism. This goes beyond any general social sense of feeling different or marginalized, damaging as that is in itself. It even goes beyond the insulting infantilization of young single adults (see p. 88). Single members are made to feel that they genuinely don’t matter as much in the church, and further that their entire lives are inferior—an unhappy prelude to a more joyous, realized life with spouse and children, which we’re told in the church is our raison d'être. As one woman shared in her interview, “I was facing a life of not ever having love or companionship or sex or children. … I just knew that I couldn’t stay [in the church]. I did not agree with the expectation that if I was single, I had missed the boat” (78). There is so much I could say about this topic, but I’ll sum it up this way: This chapter is SO IMPORTANT for all Mormons to read and discuss. It’s not just about asking a few single people to “be patient” or “wait for eternal blessings”; this is a big enough phenomenon that Mormonism needs a full overhaul on how we talk about families and what it means to live a happy, full life.
And honestly, that’s kind of the takeaway of the entire book. We’re facing big changes in how Americans (including American Mormons) approach family life. Think, for example, of the shrinking size of Mormon families (which is both reported in this book and highlighted in a recent Religion News Service post by Riess). Neither I nor Riess, I suspect, would characterize this as a “decline” in American family values or a sign of national moral failing, but a basic reality having to do with deferred marriage timelines, changing notions of work and career expectations, stagnant wages, decreased access to homeownership, etc. All of this is paired with a more generous definition of what “family” is to Millennials (especially unmarried ones), including extended family, ward members, neighbors, and friends. Instead of clinging desperately to its post-WWII commitment to the nuclear family, the church has an opportunity to do what it did back then and respond to the cultural realities of its members at this crucial time in American and religious history. Convinced? Not convinced? I suggest reading The Next Mormons either way, as it offers valuable insight for members, leaders, and researchers of the LDS faith community.
The research in the book is based on the Next Mormons Survey, a Qualtrics questionnaire administered to 1,696 current and former Mormons, along with personal interviews conducted with 63 additional Mormons (not respondents of the survey). Riess details in the final section of the book how they secured a fairly representative sample (and corrected for imbalances with a method called poststratification, p. 242), and she is quick to note throughout the book when a given sample size is too small to generalize or draw definitive conclusions from the results. While reading, I was impressed with how forthright she is in explaining her methodology, discussing how the findings compared with previous research undertaken by Pew and others, and pointing out any limitations or areas that could use further analysis.
Throughout the book, Riess is most interested in illuminating the experience of Millennials by comparing survey results across generations (Boomer/Silent, Gen X, and Millennial). She also does a lot of current Mormon/former Mormon juxtapositions, and given that the final chapter is “Exodus: Millennial Former Mormons,” it’s clear that another prevailing concern for her is disaffiliation. This is central to any discussion of younger Mormons because Millennials are leaving the church in greater numbers than previous generations, so issues of faith crisis and disaffiliation are key to understanding Millennials’ experience. Even for those who stay, they are much more likely than their parents to have Mormon spouses, siblings, and friends who leave. This is one of the many reasons I think all Mormons, especially leadership, should spend some time with this book.
Many of the findings in The Next Mormons may seem intuitive and, therefore, unsurprising. However, I think it’s important to have supporting evidence for folk wisdom that circulates (and there’s a lot of that in Mormonism). In some cases, prevailing “common sense” beliefs are debunked by survey results. For example, though church leaders have long worried about the corrupting influence of college campuses, it turns out that more education correlates with greater church retention and even orthodoxy. (The one exception cited is women with an advanced academic degree, who are actually more likely to leave, see pp. 106–107.) Another interesting finding is that Millennial children of stay-at-home mothers were more likely to leave the church as adults than those with working mothers (pp. 107–108). Of course, the point here isn’t to shame anyone for their choices, but it’s interesting to note that the fears surrounding mothers entering the workforce in the latter half of the 20th century turned out to be unfounded.
Other findings in the book are what you might expect, but often with a little twist. Even the headline issue, that Millennial Mormons are leaving the church in greater numbers, is paired with the finding that Millennials who do stay are both devout and more likely to express doubt than their elders. The key is not to misinterpret that doubt as necessarily signaling a lack of faith or commitment, but simply a feature of Millennials’ religious lives. Riess does a masterful job of describing such generational characteristics (some of which may immediately sound the alarms for many older Mormons) without resorting to clichés, offering the reader a path to sympathy and understanding for the reported beliefs and behaviors that may deviate from expectation.
Speaking of which, the most surprising thing about this book for me was how much uncertainty in LDS teachings was expressed in the overall survey results across all generations. Even foundational Christian belief statements like “God is real” had lower reported levels of full certainty than I would have expected: 86% of Boomer/Silents, 76% of GenXers, 68% of Millennials (p. 17). I’m not a social scientist, so I don’t know the best practices for extrapolating these statistics, but I think this means it’s possible that up to 30 out of 100 members of a given ward or stake aren’t 100% sure God is real. That’s huge. That matters. I’d say it requires a different approach to testifying and ministering than the current status quo.
The reported uncertainty is even higher for LDS-specific teachings. For example, the statement “The LDS First Presidency members and apostles are God’s prophets on the earth today” has full confidence from 67% of Boomer/Silents, 55% of GenXers, and 53% of Millennials (p. 19). Those numbers seem low to me, even as someone who knows a lot of Mormons with varied beliefs, but it’s unsurprising that many would normally keep quiet about these doubts because of enormous pressure to perform faith and belief in a certain way, especially depending on your family, friends, and job/education (for example, being at a Church-owned school).
This particular faith tenet—the authority of church leadership—is a recurring theme of The Next Mormons, as issues of authority and obedience appear to be at the root of Mormon doubt and disaffiliation, especially for Millennials. Even among LGBT former Mormons, who could readily cite LGBT issues as their primary reason for leaving, top concerns also included “the church’s lack of financial transparency; emphasis on conformity and obedience; strong culture of political conservatism; and excommunications of feminists, intellectuals, and activities” (142). “In other words,” Riess writes, “for LGBT Mormons, leaving the church is never ‘just’ about LGBT issues per se. It’s that those issues strike at the very heart of Mormon ideas of authority” (142).
The twin issues of authority and obedience were also relevant in the discussion of evolving gender roles. See chapter 5 for more on this. For now, I’ll just leave you with the money quote about the importance of having women in church leadership: “Why does women’s religious leadership matter? … [W]omen who attend congregations in which women make up at least half of the religious leadership have higher levels of religious belief, identity, and ‘efficacy’ (confidence that their opinions matter in their congregations) than other women. This effect is not limited to how women feel and behave religiously, but extends to other areas of their lives. For example, the presence of women as religious leaders in female respondents’ childhoods contributed to better educational and socioeconomic outcomes for those women as adults, even after controlling for other factors. The positive results were particularly marked for women with more liberal theological and political views—the very ones who may be, in Mormonism at least, more likely to simply leave the church than to continue to chafe at restrictions they feel within it” (100).
Other major themes treated include missionary experience, the temple, gender, race, and social and political views. I was especially interested in the chapter on single Mormons (ch 4) because I’ve been swimming in those waters for a long time, and I think it’s also a major site of resistance for young Mormons because of how never-married “singles” (who make up about 20% of the adult church) are treated and counseled by both membership and leadership, at the local level all the way to the top. The pervasive church message that single adults are “just biding our time until we get married, and that’s when our ‘real’ lives will begin” (78) is devastating to unmarried Mormons in their 20s, 30s, and beyond as they spend precious years and even decades in this “waiting” phase, wondering what their purpose is and making major life decisions (career, education, travel, city/state relocation) based on an anxious calculus of what is most likely to lead to marriage. Many single women in the church move to Utah or stay there long after their college education because they believe, or are told, that the dating pool is better there. Consider, though, that while there are more never-married Mormon men than women nationally, “[i]n Utah, never-married women who were active in the church outnumbered their male counterparts by more than two to one” (77), challenging conventional wisdom for single women to flock to Utah for marriage prospects within the faith.
In terms of marital status and disaffiliation: “Statistically, single people are more likely to leave Mormonism or become inactive than married people” (81). I suspect this is because single people don’t feel like they have a place in Mormonism. This goes beyond any general social sense of feeling different or marginalized, damaging as that is in itself. It even goes beyond the insulting infantilization of young single adults (see p. 88). Single members are made to feel that they genuinely don’t matter as much in the church, and further that their entire lives are inferior—an unhappy prelude to a more joyous, realized life with spouse and children, which we’re told in the church is our raison d'être. As one woman shared in her interview, “I was facing a life of not ever having love or companionship or sex or children. … I just knew that I couldn’t stay [in the church]. I did not agree with the expectation that if I was single, I had missed the boat” (78). There is so much I could say about this topic, but I’ll sum it up this way: This chapter is SO IMPORTANT for all Mormons to read and discuss. It’s not just about asking a few single people to “be patient” or “wait for eternal blessings”; this is a big enough phenomenon that Mormonism needs a full overhaul on how we talk about families and what it means to live a happy, full life.
And honestly, that’s kind of the takeaway of the entire book. We’re facing big changes in how Americans (including American Mormons) approach family life. Think, for example, of the shrinking size of Mormon families (which is both reported in this book and highlighted in a recent Religion News Service post by Riess). Neither I nor Riess, I suspect, would characterize this as a “decline” in American family values or a sign of national moral failing, but a basic reality having to do with deferred marriage timelines, changing notions of work and career expectations, stagnant wages, decreased access to homeownership, etc. All of this is paired with a more generous definition of what “family” is to Millennials (especially unmarried ones), including extended family, ward members, neighbors, and friends. Instead of clinging desperately to its post-WWII commitment to the nuclear family, the church has an opportunity to do what it did back then and respond to the cultural realities of its members at this crucial time in American and religious history. Convinced? Not convinced? I suggest reading The Next Mormons either way, as it offers valuable insight for members, leaders, and researchers of the LDS faith community.
August 31, 2019
A grudging three stars. The information is useful, particularly to those who lead or teach "Millennials" in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That said, there are significant problems with some of the survey questions and especially with Riess' presentation of the data. Her bias is very obvious, and becomes more so the further on one reads in the book. Guess what! Younger people tend to be more liberal and open than older people! Not to say that some of these cultural fashions won't stick longer than in previous generations--undoubtedly that will happen to a degree. And of course any loss of members, particularly younger ones, is a blow and should be taken seriously and the perspectives of the departing should be listened to with respect. I just wish this could have been approached with a little less of an ax to grind.
November 20, 2020
Took me a long time to chip away at my hard copy — I would not call this a light read — but it was so fascinating! And disturbing.
“What should worry LDS leaders is not simply that the church will lose ground numerically - though for any Institution of course that is a valid concern - but that it will become an echo chamber if its own making, a dogged remnant whose followers retreat to their own safe subculture.
Will it become an entrenched, embattled subculture, or will it accommodate its message to retain cultural relevancy?
The LDS church has accommodated change before, and it can do so again. The issue is whether it will choose to.”
“What should worry LDS leaders is not simply that the church will lose ground numerically - though for any Institution of course that is a valid concern - but that it will become an echo chamber if its own making, a dogged remnant whose followers retreat to their own safe subculture.
Will it become an entrenched, embattled subculture, or will it accommodate its message to retain cultural relevancy?
The LDS church has accommodated change before, and it can do so again. The issue is whether it will choose to.”
April 18, 2019
The subtitle of this book was quite misleading - it sounds like a book about Millenials trying to activate change in the Mormon church. Actually, this book is a statistical analysis of a survey of roughly 1200 current and 500 former Mormons on a host of different topics, looking at the variance of answers by generation (Boomer, GenX and Millenials).
We live in a world with a lot of hyperbole when people are talking about various issues, so it was refreshing to read something with some statistical basis. My biggest surprise is that nothing in this book was hugely surprising to me. The survey is a snapshot, and it all makes sense in the context of the time we are living in.
She also included personal interviews, which had less of a strong methodology. Interviewees were people within one degree of separation fo her -- a friend's friend, for instance. She used these interviews as a way to personalize the statistics and tell a more readable story, but I questioned how truly representative they were. As my daughter learned in her history class today, "You can never attribute one person's experience to an entire group of people." Each person's path is unique, even within definite demographic trends.
Her preface and conclusions seem to emphasize that the book is about Millenials leaving the church, and she wonders what the church will decide to do about that, but she also reminds us that 'although it's tempting to fixate on what the LDS CHurch is or is not doing as the primary explanation for those membership losses, ... a major explanation for disaffiliation is the changing religious landscape in America. Mormonism is not an island." Given that landscape, though not emphasized, the statistics regarding those who do continue in church participation is impressive.
How these statistics do or don't change over time will be interesting to see - after all the Millenials, by definition are still very young with a lot of life left to live.
We live in a world with a lot of hyperbole when people are talking about various issues, so it was refreshing to read something with some statistical basis. My biggest surprise is that nothing in this book was hugely surprising to me. The survey is a snapshot, and it all makes sense in the context of the time we are living in.
She also included personal interviews, which had less of a strong methodology. Interviewees were people within one degree of separation fo her -- a friend's friend, for instance. She used these interviews as a way to personalize the statistics and tell a more readable story, but I questioned how truly representative they were. As my daughter learned in her history class today, "You can never attribute one person's experience to an entire group of people." Each person's path is unique, even within definite demographic trends.
Her preface and conclusions seem to emphasize that the book is about Millenials leaving the church, and she wonders what the church will decide to do about that, but she also reminds us that 'although it's tempting to fixate on what the LDS CHurch is or is not doing as the primary explanation for those membership losses, ... a major explanation for disaffiliation is the changing religious landscape in America. Mormonism is not an island." Given that landscape, though not emphasized, the statistics regarding those who do continue in church participation is impressive.
How these statistics do or don't change over time will be interesting to see - after all the Millenials, by definition are still very young with a lot of life left to live.
July 6, 2020
Really enjoyed it. Found most if not all of the statistics very fascinating. I really enjoyed seeing how my perceptions of the members of the church around me were accurate or inaccurate to the church membership at large. Statistics I found most interesting were that you were more likely to believe in the teachings of the church literally if you have a college education and that if you served a full time mission for the full 18 months or 2 years it was a very good indicator that you'd be active your whole life.
I think a longitudinal study of members would be so so fascinating, I love this stuff.
I think a longitudinal study of members would be so so fascinating, I love this stuff.
April 26, 2019
As a member and as an educator of students of the Latter-day Saint community, I found this very compelling reading. While I am not in a strong position to assess the strength of its social science, it certainly cannot nor should not be ignored by anyone interested in keeping the Latter-day Saint tradition nimble and responsive to the issues confronting contemporary religion in America.
March 12, 2023
I am the exact audience for this book: Mormon and millennial, but with huge concerns about the church and particularly its views on LGBTQ+ and women. With a lot of my current beliefs, it often feels isolating to still be a member, and this book helped me understand that there’s a much larger generational shift in certain topics. Between the survey questions and interview accounts, it’s clear that there are a lot more people (and likely more so now, a number of years after the survey was performed) who feel the same as me, which is personally encouraging. I learned quite a bit about the church’s handbook, and it felt like I was reading something interesting or surprising aloud to my husband every other paragraph.
I’m no survey expert, and I haven’t read up on how this survey was viewed by Mormons at large — did they think it biased? So I do wonder if there’s a grain of salt to be had with this information.
I wish such an in-depth survey would be performed regularly to continue to see what directions trends are heading in the church.
I’m no survey expert, and I haven’t read up on how this survey was viewed by Mormons at large — did they think it biased? So I do wonder if there’s a grain of salt to be had with this information.
I wish such an in-depth survey would be performed regularly to continue to see what directions trends are heading in the church.
July 4, 2021
I want all of my friends that are members of the church to read this book so they can discuss it with me!! If you read this and are interested, please take me up on that (:
I am really grateful for the concept of this book. A survey was conducted to look at generational, demographic (gender, race, married vs. single), and geographic differences in people's spirituality within the organization of the church, and this book is all reporting and commentary on that survey. I was surprised by many of the data it shared - like that 3/4 of millennial members of the church (meaning my generation) were raised by working moms. The factors that are most associated with retention in the church are not what some may expect. For example, women having higher education is correlated with stronger belief in the church. Members of different political parties are not more likely to leave or have strong belief in the church, though different demographic characteristics of individuals of the church also predispose them to be more likely to identify with one political party over another.
The book looks at retention rates in the church, comments on how the church has changed over time, and looks at data differences between self-identified members and self-identified "former members" of the church, as well as how individuals approach spiritual decision-making and what things are most important to them between these groups. You guys, it is really interesting, and I absolutely love that they looked into this information.
I think this kind of information is vital! As I learned from this book, the current retention rate for young adults is about 57%. As shared in the book as well as in recent General Conference, there are many more single members of the church than in previous times, and the retention rate and intensity of whole-hearted belief is greater among married members than singles. The book explores the experience of single members, former members, questioning members, and members of different demographics and I think this information can only be helpful. I would seriously love to discuss it with you guys.
I am really grateful for the concept of this book. A survey was conducted to look at generational, demographic (gender, race, married vs. single), and geographic differences in people's spirituality within the organization of the church, and this book is all reporting and commentary on that survey. I was surprised by many of the data it shared - like that 3/4 of millennial members of the church (meaning my generation) were raised by working moms. The factors that are most associated with retention in the church are not what some may expect. For example, women having higher education is correlated with stronger belief in the church. Members of different political parties are not more likely to leave or have strong belief in the church, though different demographic characteristics of individuals of the church also predispose them to be more likely to identify with one political party over another.
The book looks at retention rates in the church, comments on how the church has changed over time, and looks at data differences between self-identified members and self-identified "former members" of the church, as well as how individuals approach spiritual decision-making and what things are most important to them between these groups. You guys, it is really interesting, and I absolutely love that they looked into this information.
I think this kind of information is vital! As I learned from this book, the current retention rate for young adults is about 57%. As shared in the book as well as in recent General Conference, there are many more single members of the church than in previous times, and the retention rate and intensity of whole-hearted belief is greater among married members than singles. The book explores the experience of single members, former members, questioning members, and members of different demographics and I think this information can only be helpful. I would seriously love to discuss it with you guys.
December 1, 2019
Though understandably data heavy, The Next Mormons is accessible and insightful for those with an interest in or knowledge of what makes members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints tick. The focus is on the millennial generation, but just looking at the comparisons between the different age groups provides some understanding into the motivations and loyalties of members of this Church over the last seventy years. I belong to GenX, but find myself relating to many of the frustrations that are, if not pushing them out exactly, at least causing a more socially activist minded generation to consider what their membership in the Church means.
The Church's historic enmeshment in conservative politics is (and has been) creating a division that, if nothing is changed, will cause even more of its youth to find their own avenues to worship. The young people I know (and many my own age) want a religion that is outspoken on the things like the environment, caring for the poor, and loving all people whatever their situation (read: LGBTQ). Since the publication of Riess' study, there have been new steps made in adapting the religion to these issues. Still, the Church gets to decide what tenets it clings to and sets the cultural temperature regarding social issues. As Riess notes at the end of her analysis "the LDS Church has accommodated change before, and it can do so again. The issue is whether it will choose to."
I appreciate that Riess tackles the differences between generations with an even hand, and shares both the blunt commentary mixed with the sincere belief of her sample group. She is cautious sharing personal information, but I recognized many of the stories from the discussions in my online community and, I realized, her acknowledgements section reads like my Twitter "Following" list. (It's a good community.)
The Church's historic enmeshment in conservative politics is (and has been) creating a division that, if nothing is changed, will cause even more of its youth to find their own avenues to worship. The young people I know (and many my own age) want a religion that is outspoken on the things like the environment, caring for the poor, and loving all people whatever their situation (read: LGBTQ). Since the publication of Riess' study, there have been new steps made in adapting the religion to these issues. Still, the Church gets to decide what tenets it clings to and sets the cultural temperature regarding social issues. As Riess notes at the end of her analysis "the LDS Church has accommodated change before, and it can do so again. The issue is whether it will choose to."
I appreciate that Riess tackles the differences between generations with an even hand, and shares both the blunt commentary mixed with the sincere belief of her sample group. She is cautious sharing personal information, but I recognized many of the stories from the discussions in my online community and, I realized, her acknowledgements section reads like my Twitter "Following" list. (It's a good community.)
October 11, 2025
This book is incredibly important research of LDS members’ thinking, spiritual, religious organization, historical significance on today’s living, and much more. I would not have picked the title, because it is about much more than just the millennial generation of LDS people. I am amazed by Dr. Riess’ thorough, and frankly unprecedented research. Many things didn’t surprise me, but were important patterns to establish. Other pieces of data (which I wont share for spoilers’ sake) shocked me.
This book is great for any member of the LDS church: active, inactive and anyone in between.
I don’t recommend the audiobook version because of all the data; I would have rather read it with a highlighter nearby to stop and take notes. It read a lot like a detailed dissertation. By the end it felt quite repetitive.
This book is great for any member of the LDS church: active, inactive and anyone in between.
I don’t recommend the audiobook version because of all the data; I would have rather read it with a highlighter nearby to stop and take notes. It read a lot like a detailed dissertation. By the end it felt quite repetitive.
May 31, 2019
I have been fascinated with the Mormonism from an early age. My family visited Salt Lake when I was a child. I remember visiting Temple Square. There was a museum that told the story of the Mormon trek across the country to Utah. There was the Tabernacle with its famed organ, which we heard played. Then the Temple itself stands out, especially to a child of about eight. We were good Episcopalians, so we had no interest in joining, but the story was intriguing. Over time a number of friends were Mormons. They were good people. They were loyal friends. Later on, as I entered my teenage years, my interest in history led to my reading of Fawn Brodie's biography of Joseph Smith - No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith. After I became active in Pentecostal churches I began to look deeper into the theology, and the evangelical critiques. I would even debate the missionaries who knocked on our door.
I offer this up as a foundation for my decision to ask for a review copy of Jana Riess' "The Next Mormons." The subtitle is enlightening and a bit misleading. It is a book about how Millennials are changing the LDS church, but it is more than that. Riess holds a Ph.D. in American Religious History, though she has devoted her attention to journalism rather than the academy, invites us to take a deep dive into the current state of the LDS church.
Standing at the base of the book is a sociological survey she conducted, with help, which is titled "The Next Mormons Survey. Riess and political Scientist Benjamin Knoll created the survey, which focused on 1,156 Mormons and 540 former Mormons of all ages. Thus, this is a comparative study. Riess writes that "We wanted to understand who Mormons are, what they believe, and what generational differences may pertain among them.
One thing stated up front is that the LDS church, while still growing, has slowed down Whereas it was growing at about a 5-6% clip per year in the 1970s to 1990s, more recently it is growing at about .05 percent. Growth yes, but barely. In other words, the same challenges affecting other traditions are starting to hit it as well. Part of the change is to be found among millennials.
The book is divided into three parts. Part One focuses on foundations. In three chapters, Riess notes the continuity of religious belief, but even here there is change. What is continuous across generations is that they believe Mormonism gives them peace, they affirm the idea of eternal families (a strong element within its attractiveness) and the emphasis on Christ as savior. When it comes to believing in God, there is a strong affirmation, but older generations are more certain than younger ones. Having laid out the basic religious/theological affirmations, Riess moves to the Missionary experience and its implications for Mormon life. It is interesting that Millenials are much more likely to have gone on missions than earlier generations. Finally, she takes us on a tour of the rites of passages, such as baptism, temple endowments, and ordinations, all of which occur within the Temples, and are open only to Mormons in good standing.
I will note here that Riess shows tremendous respect. While she is a convert to Mormonism, she shows not only respect but objectivity. I should note that n the book she doesn't identify herself as a Mormon, and her references to Temple activities are based not on personal experience but the stories told by others.
Part Two focuses on "Changing Definitions of Family and Culture. As anyone who knows something of Mormonism, this is a culturally conservative religious community. It values family above all things. But there are some cracks showing, even if Mormon Millennials are becoming more liberal than their parents, they still are generally more conservative than their peers. The four chapters in this section focus on single Mormons, who are trying to make their way in a faith community that emphasizes marriage and child-bearing. There is a chapter on Millennial women and the way they are navigating shifting gender expectations. Again, they are more conservative, generally, than their peers, but cracks are showing. Women are still excluded from leadership, but there is some pushing going on. There is an important chapter on minorities and racial attitudes. This is quite illuminating. The LDS church is and has been largely white, and until 1978 excluded African American males from the priesthood and Blacks generally from the Temple rites. In other words, you could attend "sacrament meetings" but not truly become a Mormon. Riess goes into the various defenses of this policy, shares stories of the challenges facing minorities, to this day, and the demographic numbers that reveal the challenges. Then, there is the role of LGBT folks within the church. Since the LDS churches were strong backers of Prop 8 in California that was designed to prevent marriage equality, and until just recently (since the book was published) overturned a ruling from 2015 that forbade the baptism of children of gay and lesbian parents. Things are still difficult, but there are changing attitudes, especially among Millennials.
Finally, in Part Three, Riess focuses on Passages of faith and doubt. Here she focuses on religious practices among the upcoming generation. What do they find important and valuable? Interestingly, on some issues, they are more traditional than earlier generations. At the same time, they are more likely to show doubt. There is a chapter on social and political views, comparing current and former Mormons. The chapter on attitudes toward Religious Authority is quite revealing. Millennials are less likely than older generations to trust their own spiritual feelings but are more likely to trust local leaders over general authorities. In fact, there is a lot of distrust of these general authorities. The final chapter n this section speaks to the perspectives of Millennial former Mormons. Why did they leave? Where do they go from there? Interestingly men are more likely than women to seek a different religious home. Both in general, most former Mormons don't look to join other religious communities. They may even continue attending sacrament meetings, but stop going to the Temple and wearing the special Temple garments (Riess discusses these garments, but not in any detail). It is attitudes toward them that she is interested in, not telling us much about them.
As she concludes the book she raises the question. To what degree will the LDS church adapt and accommodate to changing mores and views. Because they value continuing revelation, they have been able to adapt over time. There is both an other-worldly dimension to Mormonism, and a pragmatic side. The church has sought to keep these in balance. The question is, where will this lead them. The question of LGBT inclusion is an important test case. She notes that what until recently was seen as an asset -- the focus on the traditional family -- is now coming into question. How will they navigate this going forward? This is how Riess closes: "The LDS Church has accommodated change before, and it can do so again. The issue is whether it will choose to." (p. 235).
As I noted at the beginning. I have long been fascinated by the Mormon church and its story. Personally, I find many of its beliefs and practices odd and counter to everything we know about history and science. What is interesting is that Mormons are generally well-educated and that the more educated they are, the more devout. So, while I may not understand how one embraces doctrines I find odd, I know that the same is said of some of the positions I take.
So, why read this? My reason would be, it will help you understand your neighbor. You might not agree, but it will help you understand. This is an academic study, with a lot of numbers and charts and graphs. However, Riess is both a good scholar and a good storyteller (see her memoir Flunking Sainthood: A Year of Breaking the Sabbath, Forgetting to Pray, and Still Loving My Neighbor). Thus, it is accessible scholarship.
I offer this up as a foundation for my decision to ask for a review copy of Jana Riess' "The Next Mormons." The subtitle is enlightening and a bit misleading. It is a book about how Millennials are changing the LDS church, but it is more than that. Riess holds a Ph.D. in American Religious History, though she has devoted her attention to journalism rather than the academy, invites us to take a deep dive into the current state of the LDS church.
Standing at the base of the book is a sociological survey she conducted, with help, which is titled "The Next Mormons Survey. Riess and political Scientist Benjamin Knoll created the survey, which focused on 1,156 Mormons and 540 former Mormons of all ages. Thus, this is a comparative study. Riess writes that "We wanted to understand who Mormons are, what they believe, and what generational differences may pertain among them.
One thing stated up front is that the LDS church, while still growing, has slowed down Whereas it was growing at about a 5-6% clip per year in the 1970s to 1990s, more recently it is growing at about .05 percent. Growth yes, but barely. In other words, the same challenges affecting other traditions are starting to hit it as well. Part of the change is to be found among millennials.
The book is divided into three parts. Part One focuses on foundations. In three chapters, Riess notes the continuity of religious belief, but even here there is change. What is continuous across generations is that they believe Mormonism gives them peace, they affirm the idea of eternal families (a strong element within its attractiveness) and the emphasis on Christ as savior. When it comes to believing in God, there is a strong affirmation, but older generations are more certain than younger ones. Having laid out the basic religious/theological affirmations, Riess moves to the Missionary experience and its implications for Mormon life. It is interesting that Millenials are much more likely to have gone on missions than earlier generations. Finally, she takes us on a tour of the rites of passages, such as baptism, temple endowments, and ordinations, all of which occur within the Temples, and are open only to Mormons in good standing.
I will note here that Riess shows tremendous respect. While she is a convert to Mormonism, she shows not only respect but objectivity. I should note that n the book she doesn't identify herself as a Mormon, and her references to Temple activities are based not on personal experience but the stories told by others.
Part Two focuses on "Changing Definitions of Family and Culture. As anyone who knows something of Mormonism, this is a culturally conservative religious community. It values family above all things. But there are some cracks showing, even if Mormon Millennials are becoming more liberal than their parents, they still are generally more conservative than their peers. The four chapters in this section focus on single Mormons, who are trying to make their way in a faith community that emphasizes marriage and child-bearing. There is a chapter on Millennial women and the way they are navigating shifting gender expectations. Again, they are more conservative, generally, than their peers, but cracks are showing. Women are still excluded from leadership, but there is some pushing going on. There is an important chapter on minorities and racial attitudes. This is quite illuminating. The LDS church is and has been largely white, and until 1978 excluded African American males from the priesthood and Blacks generally from the Temple rites. In other words, you could attend "sacrament meetings" but not truly become a Mormon. Riess goes into the various defenses of this policy, shares stories of the challenges facing minorities, to this day, and the demographic numbers that reveal the challenges. Then, there is the role of LGBT folks within the church. Since the LDS churches were strong backers of Prop 8 in California that was designed to prevent marriage equality, and until just recently (since the book was published) overturned a ruling from 2015 that forbade the baptism of children of gay and lesbian parents. Things are still difficult, but there are changing attitudes, especially among Millennials.
Finally, in Part Three, Riess focuses on Passages of faith and doubt. Here she focuses on religious practices among the upcoming generation. What do they find important and valuable? Interestingly, on some issues, they are more traditional than earlier generations. At the same time, they are more likely to show doubt. There is a chapter on social and political views, comparing current and former Mormons. The chapter on attitudes toward Religious Authority is quite revealing. Millennials are less likely than older generations to trust their own spiritual feelings but are more likely to trust local leaders over general authorities. In fact, there is a lot of distrust of these general authorities. The final chapter n this section speaks to the perspectives of Millennial former Mormons. Why did they leave? Where do they go from there? Interestingly men are more likely than women to seek a different religious home. Both in general, most former Mormons don't look to join other religious communities. They may even continue attending sacrament meetings, but stop going to the Temple and wearing the special Temple garments (Riess discusses these garments, but not in any detail). It is attitudes toward them that she is interested in, not telling us much about them.
As she concludes the book she raises the question. To what degree will the LDS church adapt and accommodate to changing mores and views. Because they value continuing revelation, they have been able to adapt over time. There is both an other-worldly dimension to Mormonism, and a pragmatic side. The church has sought to keep these in balance. The question is, where will this lead them. The question of LGBT inclusion is an important test case. She notes that what until recently was seen as an asset -- the focus on the traditional family -- is now coming into question. How will they navigate this going forward? This is how Riess closes: "The LDS Church has accommodated change before, and it can do so again. The issue is whether it will choose to." (p. 235).
As I noted at the beginning. I have long been fascinated by the Mormon church and its story. Personally, I find many of its beliefs and practices odd and counter to everything we know about history and science. What is interesting is that Mormons are generally well-educated and that the more educated they are, the more devout. So, while I may not understand how one embraces doctrines I find odd, I know that the same is said of some of the positions I take.
So, why read this? My reason would be, it will help you understand your neighbor. You might not agree, but it will help you understand. This is an academic study, with a lot of numbers and charts and graphs. However, Riess is both a good scholar and a good storyteller (see her memoir Flunking Sainthood: A Year of Breaking the Sabbath, Forgetting to Pray, and Still Loving My Neighbor). Thus, it is accessible scholarship.
January 12, 2023
Excellent “eternal marriage” between qualitative and quantitative research. I appreciated that the author explained study limitations throughout the report. The main takeaway for me is… it’s not my fault lolz.
August 20, 2021
I know, I know. I was very behind on reading this. So none of the data was surprising. I appreciated the anecdotal episodes that backed the data. Even though the pandemic has shifted some of the trends explored in this book I still think it's a highly valuable insight into millennial church members and I hope to see similar data on Gen z in the next few years.
September 30, 2019
Interesting statistics that seem to correlate a lot with what I've personally seen as a Millennial member of the LDS church. Well-written and researched.
July 19, 2019
Jana Riess has provided an outstanding contribution to Mormon Studies and more importantly to all members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who have the desire to understand and sincerely minister to members of their congregations that may feel marginalized or on the fringe. I have served in leadership positions in the Church for 20 years most recently as a mission president. I think every leader in the Church should read this to understand better the attitudes and frustrations facing Millennials and others who may feel they do not fit.
We can't put our heads in the sand and ignore the changing religious landscape in society, or we can act! The loss of a Millennials is not the first time the Church has faced a challenge like this. LDS historians and sociologists identified the "lost generation" of young people that came of age post World War I. These were the grandchildren of the pioneers. My grandfather was one of them, the son of an apostle and the grandson of a member of the First Presidency. Yet he and many of his generation took a different path. Church leadership recognized the problem and responded in ways that reversed the trend with succeeding generations. I doubt they had the tools of statistical analysis that Jana has employed but they listened and acted and in fact, the activity rates of the succeeding generations soared.
One thing I have learned in my years of leadership is that "The Brethren" listen. The bureaucracy of the Chruch at times seems to be a behemoth to some but ultimately it is about people. The Brethren despite administrative duties are among the "Saints" nearly every weekend. Having been with them on assignments I know that they listen. I have no inside information regarding how the general leadership has received Jana's book but based on experience it is a safe bet that they have looked at this very attentively and are following up with internal studies to understand better both the data the causes and potential responses.
For example, recent changes in the missionary program such as allowing missionaries to call home weekly is a case in point. The hardcore traditionalists scoffed at the change saying the Church was being soft on these immature missionaries and that the impact would be seen in a drop in obedience and results. That is just plain dumb and has no basis in reality! As a mission president, I actually tracked the "statistical" results the weeks following the traditional Mother's Day and Christmas call. Shocker there was improvement in both cases in all three years. The point is that the assumptions of the past cannot always guide us in the future.
Having served with 508 Millennials I have great hope for the future. I do not see Jana's work as the canary in the gold mine but as a tool that should be taken seriously. I just noted on the Church's website today and article on how we can be more inclusive in our wards. The suggestions were outstanding.
This book is a tremendous contribution and Jana should be applauded for her work. Perhaps through this work Jana has stepped into the shoes of the previous generations great sociologist of religion Armand Mauss. My hat is off to her!
We can't put our heads in the sand and ignore the changing religious landscape in society, or we can act! The loss of a Millennials is not the first time the Church has faced a challenge like this. LDS historians and sociologists identified the "lost generation" of young people that came of age post World War I. These were the grandchildren of the pioneers. My grandfather was one of them, the son of an apostle and the grandson of a member of the First Presidency. Yet he and many of his generation took a different path. Church leadership recognized the problem and responded in ways that reversed the trend with succeeding generations. I doubt they had the tools of statistical analysis that Jana has employed but they listened and acted and in fact, the activity rates of the succeeding generations soared.
One thing I have learned in my years of leadership is that "The Brethren" listen. The bureaucracy of the Chruch at times seems to be a behemoth to some but ultimately it is about people. The Brethren despite administrative duties are among the "Saints" nearly every weekend. Having been with them on assignments I know that they listen. I have no inside information regarding how the general leadership has received Jana's book but based on experience it is a safe bet that they have looked at this very attentively and are following up with internal studies to understand better both the data the causes and potential responses.
For example, recent changes in the missionary program such as allowing missionaries to call home weekly is a case in point. The hardcore traditionalists scoffed at the change saying the Church was being soft on these immature missionaries and that the impact would be seen in a drop in obedience and results. That is just plain dumb and has no basis in reality! As a mission president, I actually tracked the "statistical" results the weeks following the traditional Mother's Day and Christmas call. Shocker there was improvement in both cases in all three years. The point is that the assumptions of the past cannot always guide us in the future.
Having served with 508 Millennials I have great hope for the future. I do not see Jana's work as the canary in the gold mine but as a tool that should be taken seriously. I just noted on the Church's website today and article on how we can be more inclusive in our wards. The suggestions were outstanding.
This book is a tremendous contribution and Jana should be applauded for her work. Perhaps through this work Jana has stepped into the shoes of the previous generations great sociologist of religion Armand Mauss. My hat is off to her!
May 10, 2020
If I were in charge, this would be required reading for every LDS leader, starting with local Bishops and working all the way up.
Jana Riess has taken a very diverse and complex group of people (Mormon Millennials) and boiled down their experience into its several elements. I particularly like how she discusses data and statistics, and then punctuates that data with a person's story. So while she paints in broad strokes, she's remarkably accurate with those strokes.
You can tell Riess wants the church to do well, based on her hopeful tone. That being said, she definitely does not sugarcoat social issues, and holds no punches when Millennials bring up their criticisms of the church. Common threads include: LGBT and women's issues, questions about religious authority and transparency, a more nuanced take on doctrine and policy, and a desire for authenticity over conformity. Riess dispels many misconceptions about Millennials as well, which is a welcome reprieve.
Finally, Riess reminds the reader to take all of the data and its conclusions with a grain of salt. While her survey can determine some trends and valuable information, all studies naturally have their own weaknesses. I really appreciate that she acknowledges hers. Riess is realistic in her study, and that helped me feel more confident in her insights.
While I can't say much on behalf of minorities or women (I'm cisgendered, hetero, white, middle-class, male), I'd say the book did a good job representing my own feelings, values, and experiences in the church. I remembered both my spiritual high points and my crippling low points. If someone asks me why I turned out the way I did, I'd recommend they read this book.
Jana Riess has taken a very diverse and complex group of people (Mormon Millennials) and boiled down their experience into its several elements. I particularly like how she discusses data and statistics, and then punctuates that data with a person's story. So while she paints in broad strokes, she's remarkably accurate with those strokes.
You can tell Riess wants the church to do well, based on her hopeful tone. That being said, she definitely does not sugarcoat social issues, and holds no punches when Millennials bring up their criticisms of the church. Common threads include: LGBT and women's issues, questions about religious authority and transparency, a more nuanced take on doctrine and policy, and a desire for authenticity over conformity. Riess dispels many misconceptions about Millennials as well, which is a welcome reprieve.
Finally, Riess reminds the reader to take all of the data and its conclusions with a grain of salt. While her survey can determine some trends and valuable information, all studies naturally have their own weaknesses. I really appreciate that she acknowledges hers. Riess is realistic in her study, and that helped me feel more confident in her insights.
While I can't say much on behalf of minorities or women (I'm cisgendered, hetero, white, middle-class, male), I'd say the book did a good job representing my own feelings, values, and experiences in the church. I remembered both my spiritual high points and my crippling low points. If someone asks me why I turned out the way I did, I'd recommend they read this book.
January 12, 2022
I thought this book might be dry at points, but I loved the data she shared. I thought she mostly let the data speak for itself and was very willing to offer transparency where the study might have fallen short or been missing something. It made the study feel trustworthy to me. I would read another book like this if there was ever a follow-up. I did think the book leaned progressive, especially with the interview stories, and while that is where my interests lie, as a progressive person, I was very compelled by the more TBM millennials that still did align with the previous generations.
I felt really seen in this book and very much like a ~product of my time~. Which was fun and not fun. Not the book's fault though.
Here were some of the pieces of data I found the most compelling:
- Only 9% of people who grew up active Mormons and served a full-time mission left the church.
- Mormons are 2nd only to Hindus in marrying in their own religion.
- Mormon children are more likely to stay in the church if their mom isn't a stay-at-home mom.
- Mormons, regardless of age, are actually pretty much living the Law of Chastity. Former Mormons are not. I thought this was interesting because I wonder what influence breaking the Law of Chastity or the Law of Chastity itself plays into Mormons becoming former Mormons.
- College educated people are more likely to believe in the doctrines literally.
I felt really seen in this book and very much like a ~product of my time~. Which was fun and not fun. Not the book's fault though.
Here were some of the pieces of data I found the most compelling:
- Only 9% of people who grew up active Mormons and served a full-time mission left the church.
- Mormons are 2nd only to Hindus in marrying in their own religion.
- Mormon children are more likely to stay in the church if their mom isn't a stay-at-home mom.
- Mormons, regardless of age, are actually pretty much living the Law of Chastity. Former Mormons are not. I thought this was interesting because I wonder what influence breaking the Law of Chastity or the Law of Chastity itself plays into Mormons becoming former Mormons.
- College educated people are more likely to believe in the doctrines literally.
July 26, 2019
My ONLY criticism of this book is that the title may unnecessarily restrict the audience when the net cast from this research and Jana's presentation should be as wide as possible, particularly within the LDS community but also as part of engaging informative dialogue outside that boundary.
I now personally view this content to be required reading for anyone I share church leadership responsibilities with. For me, the findings are NOT about acquisition and retention numbers. Rather, I felt an overwhelming feeling of understanding for others and a confirmation of my own experiences and feelings. For this reason, I emphasize that this information is not simply for the curious, for leadership, for parents, etc. This data and presentation is for two people....ME and YOU.
Invite you, particularly those within the LDS faith to explore this work and inventory closely your feelings and inspiration as you do. As you do, I hope you and see the incredible strengths of our younger friends and see the opportunities and even blessed paths that will only be realized and blazed with their full inclusion.
Absorb, enjoy, and act my friends!
I now personally view this content to be required reading for anyone I share church leadership responsibilities with. For me, the findings are NOT about acquisition and retention numbers. Rather, I felt an overwhelming feeling of understanding for others and a confirmation of my own experiences and feelings. For this reason, I emphasize that this information is not simply for the curious, for leadership, for parents, etc. This data and presentation is for two people....ME and YOU.
Invite you, particularly those within the LDS faith to explore this work and inventory closely your feelings and inspiration as you do. As you do, I hope you and see the incredible strengths of our younger friends and see the opportunities and even blessed paths that will only be realized and blazed with their full inclusion.
Absorb, enjoy, and act my friends!
March 3, 2020
I really wanted to like this book. The premise of it is intriguing. However I found myself struggling to get through it. I was confused with who the audience is. The presentation primarily discusses nuances within the church that would only be interesting to church members, but follows with lengthy explanations of items that felt redundant as someone who grew up as a follower.
She has a bias that is strongly promoted through highlights of the stories she chooses and her own lengthy interpretations. It makes it difficult to take anything too seriously that is written other than the survey results. The data itself is great; a lot of what is in between is dubious.
My recommendation would be to study the surveys, and skim over her interpretations.
She has a bias that is strongly promoted through highlights of the stories she chooses and her own lengthy interpretations. It makes it difficult to take anything too seriously that is written other than the survey results. The data itself is great; a lot of what is in between is dubious.
My recommendation would be to study the surveys, and skim over her interpretations.
April 22, 2019
I can’t say I learned a lot from this book, but I found the study so interesting and insightful. And at times surprising! I enjoyed seeing where I fit in, and it did cause me to ask a lot of question myself. Why am I a part of this church? What do I agree with? Disagree with? What could possibly entice me to leave? It was a good chance to examine myself.
So far—it would take something huge to get me to deny my faith. And while I am not always 100% comfortable with the institution, I am a firm believer in the doctrines of the church.
I liked the combination of statistical and anecdotal analysis, and it was well written.
So far—it would take something huge to get me to deny my faith. And while I am not always 100% comfortable with the institution, I am a firm believer in the doctrines of the church.
I liked the combination of statistical and anecdotal analysis, and it was well written.
June 28, 2021
A very interesting read! A lot of very carefully collected statistics and an unbiased presentation of results. (i.e. a LOT of numbers, a few stories from those surveyed, and little else.) I would love an updated report now that many Gen Z’ers have reached adulthood and much has changed since 2018. I would also love a larger demographic sampling than 1600, although the well-balanced survey gathering (talked about at the end of the book) was very admirable. If I am going to spend 10-11 hours reading statistics, I would love to be able to take them with more than a grain of salt, and dig deeper into what they truly mean. Such a large survey could probably only come from the church itself.
April 16, 2019
The results of this study are not surprising, but I'm glad someone did the research so people can review actual facts and numbers. The book is statistic heavy and hard to read. And pretty boring given that most of the results are expected. (I only read it because I was interviewed for it). Read an article about the research, you'll learn just as much and won't waste so much time. Sorry, this review sounds very negative even though I truly appreciate the work that was put into the research and presenting the findings to the public. Good job, researchers!
July 14, 2019
The big contribution of this book is a survey, the Next Mormons Survey (NMS), of current and former Mormons. Riess has done a major public service by conducting this survey and providing some resulting tabulations. A key aspect of the survey is that its designers set quotas of how many current Mormons and how many former Mormons they have in the data (though they fell far short of their goal for former Mormons). That is going to matter for some of the inference, as I'll note below. But she compares her results to other survey results when possible (GSS, Pew, etc), and they seem to hold up reasonably well, at least among the ones included in the book.
My main concern with the book is that I'm very unsure about a lot of the statistical inference. It is really unclear how seriously we should interpret results of narrow tabulated cells, where sample sizes become very small (as Riess acknowledges). But even aside from that, I have concern about the inference. An example: on page 106, Riess writes, "The NMS confirmed that Mormons with college degrees are 15 percent less likely to leave the church." If you paid attention above, you'll know that this claim cannot be made with the NMS, which targeted its current/former Mormon split. What you *can* observe in NMS is the probability that a current Mormon has a college degree, and the probability that a former Mormon has a college degree. I strongly suspect that in Riess' sample, current Mormons are 15 percent (or maybe percentage points? I'm concerned) more likely to have a college degree than are former Mormons. That does not mean that a Mormon with a college degree is 15 percent less likely to become a former Mormon. You could get to that number with Bayes' Rule, but the NMS doesn't give us all the info we'd need for that.
There are lots of examples like this where I suspect Riess is getting the inference wrong (I emailed her asking about this; I will revise this review if she responds). Or, if she's getting it right, she's using more outside information than it appears.
There are other issues too, such as places where she draws inference without giving sufficient attention to selection effects. And there are places in the book where she uses the term "Mormon" ambiguously, such that I'm not sure if the data she's referring to are for the whole sample or just the current Mormons.
So, I have concerns about the inference and that makes me nervous about how much I should learn from the book. That said, I very much enjoyed reading it, and it presents some interesting results. Some results from the book that I found interesting:
- Mormons living in Utah are more likely than Mormons outside Utah to embrace strong faith statements, report that they are active in church, hold current Temple Recommend, and so on.
- Half of millennial Mormons embrace young earth theory and reject evolution! This surprised me. The share is 60% for baby boomers.
- A bit over half of millennials are bothered by the male-only priesthood (versus a quarter of boomers).
- About 70 percent of Mormons, of all generations, agree with the November 2015 policy defining homosexual relationships as apostasy. About 60 percent of all generations agree with the ban on children of same sex couples being baptized. These may seem high, but 1/3 of members opposing that controversial policy seems notable.
- Word of Wisdom compliance is lower than I thought. 40% of self-reported "active" Mormons break it in some way.
- Mormons' acceptance of homosexuality is rapidly rising, due largely to millennials, more than half of whom don't have a problem with it.
So, take the above with a grain of salt, but some very suggestive results.
The most annoying thing about the book is that the endnotes are organized by chapter number, but within the text, there is no heading telling you which chapter number you are in. You have to flip back to the beginning of the chapter to figure it out, before you can go look up the end note. That's bad! Don't do that, publishers!
Overall, a pretty good read--very engaging, it really was a page turner. She includes a lot of anecdotes from in-depth interviews she conducted (separately from the NMS), which I really enjoyed. I would have liked much more care to be given to discussing the stats precisely.
My main concern with the book is that I'm very unsure about a lot of the statistical inference. It is really unclear how seriously we should interpret results of narrow tabulated cells, where sample sizes become very small (as Riess acknowledges). But even aside from that, I have concern about the inference. An example: on page 106, Riess writes, "The NMS confirmed that Mormons with college degrees are 15 percent less likely to leave the church." If you paid attention above, you'll know that this claim cannot be made with the NMS, which targeted its current/former Mormon split. What you *can* observe in NMS is the probability that a current Mormon has a college degree, and the probability that a former Mormon has a college degree. I strongly suspect that in Riess' sample, current Mormons are 15 percent (or maybe percentage points? I'm concerned) more likely to have a college degree than are former Mormons. That does not mean that a Mormon with a college degree is 15 percent less likely to become a former Mormon. You could get to that number with Bayes' Rule, but the NMS doesn't give us all the info we'd need for that.
There are lots of examples like this where I suspect Riess is getting the inference wrong (I emailed her asking about this; I will revise this review if she responds). Or, if she's getting it right, she's using more outside information than it appears.
There are other issues too, such as places where she draws inference without giving sufficient attention to selection effects. And there are places in the book where she uses the term "Mormon" ambiguously, such that I'm not sure if the data she's referring to are for the whole sample or just the current Mormons.
So, I have concerns about the inference and that makes me nervous about how much I should learn from the book. That said, I very much enjoyed reading it, and it presents some interesting results. Some results from the book that I found interesting:
- Mormons living in Utah are more likely than Mormons outside Utah to embrace strong faith statements, report that they are active in church, hold current Temple Recommend, and so on.
- Half of millennial Mormons embrace young earth theory and reject evolution! This surprised me. The share is 60% for baby boomers.
- A bit over half of millennials are bothered by the male-only priesthood (versus a quarter of boomers).
- About 70 percent of Mormons, of all generations, agree with the November 2015 policy defining homosexual relationships as apostasy. About 60 percent of all generations agree with the ban on children of same sex couples being baptized. These may seem high, but 1/3 of members opposing that controversial policy seems notable.
- Word of Wisdom compliance is lower than I thought. 40% of self-reported "active" Mormons break it in some way.
- Mormons' acceptance of homosexuality is rapidly rising, due largely to millennials, more than half of whom don't have a problem with it.
So, take the above with a grain of salt, but some very suggestive results.
The most annoying thing about the book is that the endnotes are organized by chapter number, but within the text, there is no heading telling you which chapter number you are in. You have to flip back to the beginning of the chapter to figure it out, before you can go look up the end note. That's bad! Don't do that, publishers!
Overall, a pretty good read--very engaging, it really was a page turner. She includes a lot of anecdotes from in-depth interviews she conducted (separately from the NMS), which I really enjoyed. I would have liked much more care to be given to discussing the stats precisely.
June 12, 2024
On the one hand, this is important work and I'm glad I could read this and learn from this survey.
That said, I have a few qualms. For one, it's an entire book based on a single study - a study that admits to having a small sample size (all self-selecting) and has a disproportionate number of young, college-educated, and wealthy respondents. Surveying the church as a whole, I imagine it does pretty well as its margin of error is only 3%. But the moment you start to dig deeper into subcategories (race, gender, generation cohort, geography, converts, etc.) the margin of error goes up. And zeroing in on those subcategories is the entire focus of the book. Additionally, while the anecdotes are helpful additions to the data, they aren't representative - though they are presented as such (until you read the Appendix), which can give the wrong impression. (The interviewees weren't even a part of the survey.)
Again, I think this is worth reading and I would definitely recommend it to members of the church seeking to understand the rising generation. (I would even bet that most if not all of the book's conclusions are probably accurate despite the potential for error.) The unique viewpoints on difficult topics are also important, even if (or especially because) they're not representative of American church membership as a whole. But I would only recommend it to those who can critically keep those conclusions in the proper perspective of limited data - and recognizing this only focuses on American statistics, which leaves out most of church membership worldwide.
That said, I have a few qualms. For one, it's an entire book based on a single study - a study that admits to having a small sample size (all self-selecting) and has a disproportionate number of young, college-educated, and wealthy respondents. Surveying the church as a whole, I imagine it does pretty well as its margin of error is only 3%. But the moment you start to dig deeper into subcategories (race, gender, generation cohort, geography, converts, etc.) the margin of error goes up. And zeroing in on those subcategories is the entire focus of the book. Additionally, while the anecdotes are helpful additions to the data, they aren't representative - though they are presented as such (until you read the Appendix), which can give the wrong impression. (The interviewees weren't even a part of the survey.)
Again, I think this is worth reading and I would definitely recommend it to members of the church seeking to understand the rising generation. (I would even bet that most if not all of the book's conclusions are probably accurate despite the potential for error.) The unique viewpoints on difficult topics are also important, even if (or especially because) they're not representative of American church membership as a whole. But I would only recommend it to those who can critically keep those conclusions in the proper perspective of limited data - and recognizing this only focuses on American statistics, which leaves out most of church membership worldwide.
December 19, 2019
I think this book is very important. I’d rate it 3.5. First the sample size is small to what I had wished to see (sure probably statistically okay but could have been much more comprehensive). Second the storytelling was focused intentionally on minority issues significantly and only stated as such in the endnotes. I found this a little disingenuous. Third as a psychology major I have always had a distaste for sociology ideals which sometime seem to completely negate the individual and that individual uniqueness of each soul regardless of her or his cultural background. Fourth the author’s many tongue in cheek personally biased comments and opinions throughout were unnecessary. That being said I found the information invaluable especially while raising millennials. I kept having to take a step back from my core spiritual beliefs and take in the information on a sociology level as I read, but found it to be invaluably informative. Mostly well done and vital going forward. Definitely will affect my thoughts and actions from here on out.
October 15, 2019
Very interesting and accessible analysis of a survey and corresponding data set assessing not only Millennial Latter-day Saints' religious beliefs, attitudes, and practices, but those of other generations, as well (Gen X, Boomer, Silent Generation). Many of the survey results were as I would expect (and even that was interesting--to see one's hunches confirmed in data), but some of them were surprising indeed. I also appreciated that Jana Riess drew throughout the book on personal interviews she had conducted; this provided a humanizing illustration of (and sometimes an informative counter-point to) the data, in a well-organized format. Ultimately any one person's experience is uniquely their own, even though it may fit within the contours of broader generational trends, and I liked that Jana Riess leveraged both hard data and personal narrative in this work, to tell a richer and more nuanced story. Overall a fascinating look at the Latter-day Saint experience in the 20th and 21st century--I found it hard to put down.
November 14, 2019
This is such a fascinating look at the changing dynamic within the LDS church. Most of the info comes from the NMS- a survey conducted a couple of years ago of current and former members of the church. The questions are scrutinized in the chapters of the book and it’s a look at the differing viewpoints of one generation to the next. Very eye opening.
August 4, 2020
Fascinating. I think this book would be interesting for anyone who is or has been a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
It's super heavy of statistics so not a light easy read, and it does lean in to stories of people disenchanted with the LDS church more than those of faithful members so that may be off-putting to some people.
Highly recommend.
It's super heavy of statistics so not a light easy read, and it does lean in to stories of people disenchanted with the LDS church more than those of faithful members so that may be off-putting to some people.
Highly recommend.
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