From FAIRMormon
Criticism
- "Within the state of Utah, the number of Mormons has steadily declined over the past 10 years."
- In Utah, more people are leaving the Church than are joining the Church.
Source(s) of the criticism
- Search for the Truth DVD pre-distribution letter, March 2007. FAIRWiki link
- Agence France-Press, "Mormons to lose dominance of US state of Utah within 30 years: figures Agence France-Press" (28 July 2005).
Response
Critics of the Church and misinformed members of the mainstream media sometimes claim that the number of Latter-day Saints in Utah has fallen. This belief led the producers of the anti-Mormon video Search for the Truth to claim that "within Utah, we are doing a fairly good job of combating Mormonism" and therefore "the Mormon Church is vulnerable" to anti-Mormon criticisms.
But such authors are simply incorrect, according to figures from the U.S. Census and the LDS Church Almanac:
| |
Utah: Total |
Utah: LDS |
Utah: Non-LDS |
| 31-Dec-1990 |
1,722,850 |
1,236,242 |
486,608 |
| 31-Dec-2005 |
2,469,585 |
1,752,467 |
717,118 |
| 15-year growth |
43.34% |
41.76% |
47.37% |
| annualized growth |
2.89% |
2.78% |
3.16% |
As the table shows, the LDS population in Utah is growing—it is just growing at a slower rate than the non-LDS population. The primary reason for this is the high non-LDS immigration into Utah over the last two decades.
According to a recent article in the Salt Lake Tribute:
- Utah's ongoing religious diversification has little to do with the LDS Church or its teachings, but rather is a reflection of the economy.... When economic growth goes up, minority population goes up, and this is kind of a code word for non-Mormons.... While continuing to grow in actual members, the LDS share of the state population showed a slow but constant decline every year from 1989 to 2004.[1]
Data Sources
Endnotes
- [back] Matt Canham, "Mormon portion of Utah population steadily shrinking," Salt Lake Tribune (22 June 2006). off-site (accessed 20 March 2007)
Further reading
FAIR wiki articles
FAIR web site
- FAIR Topical Guide: Statistics and Demographics FAIR link
- Dr. Tim B. Heaton, "Dealing with Demographics," presentation at the 2002 FAIR Conference. FAIR link
External links
| | Statistical issues on-line links
|
- Michael R. Ash, "Are LDS Prone to Problems," mormonfortress.com off-site
- Daniel K. Judd, "Religion, Mental Health, and the Latter-day Saints," BYU Speeches mp3 offsite
- Hilton, Fellingham, and Lyon, "Suicide Rates and Religious Commitment in Young Adult Males in Utah," American Journal of Epidemiology (Vol. 155, No. 5 : 413-419) off-site
Printed material
| | Statistical issues printed materials
|
