FAIR is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Difference between revisions of "Utah/Statistical claims/LDS population in Utah"
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===Source(s) of the criticism=== | ===Source(s) of the criticism=== | ||
*''Search for the Truth'' DVD pre-distribution letter, March 2007.{{wikilink|url=Search for the Truth DVD:letter}} | *''Search for the Truth'' DVD pre-distribution letter, March 2007.{{wikilink|url=Search for the Truth DVD:letter}} | ||
| − | * Agence France-Press, "Mormons to lose dominance of US state of Utah within 30 years: figures Agence France- | + | * Agence France-Press, "Mormons to lose dominance of US state of Utah within 30 years: figures Agence France-Press" (28 July 2005). |
==Response== | ==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 DVD| ''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'': | But such authors are simply incorrect, according to figures from the U.S. Census and the ''LDS Church Almanac'': | ||
Revision as of 14:15, 7 July 2007
Contents
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
- Deseret News Church Almanac, 2005.
- http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/49000.html
- http://www.adherents.com/largecom/com_lds.html
- http://www.ams.usda.gov/statesummaries/UT/MSA/MSA.pdf/Utah.pdf
Endnotes
- [note] Matt Canham, "Mormon portion of Utah population steadily shrinking," Salt Lake Tribune (22 June 2006).off-site (accessed 20 March 2007)