In celebration of Pioneer Day, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life released a new study that focuses on Mormons. This study is fascinating, and has many tidbits that could be highlighted.
For instance, did you know that the LDS Church, in America, has more racial diversity than several other religious traditions who routinely criticize us for our “racism.” Mormons are 86% white, compared with other predominantly white faiths, such as “Jews (95% white), members of mainline Protestant churches (91% white) and Orthodox Christians (87% white).” The diversity among Mormons is growing, as well, as only 72% of converts are white—a statistic that would have been unthinkable only a generation ago.
Perhaps one of the most interesting items to me, however, was an examination of how Mormons compare to other religious traditions when it comes to living our religion. This graph, from the Pew data, sums it up:
Note that Mormons are at the high end of the spectrum, beyond any other religious tradition. In short, we practice what we preach. In the words of the report, “Mormon exceptionalism in religious commitment is evident when several measures of religious belief and practice are combined.”
The results of the study put the lie to many old canards about the Church and its members. It will be interesting to see if such data changes perceptions.
-Allen
In short, we practice what we preach.
If you want to put it in those terms, the graph shows that pretty much everybody practices what they preach. We just preach and practice more.
If I’m reading that graph right, it places Mormons on the average as far as regards intensity of practice = intensity of belief. We just have very intense levels of both.
It looks as if black Protestants, Hindus, Buddhists, and especially Jehovah’s Witnesses have an even higher orthopraxy/orthodoxy ratio. That is, they may not believe as fervently as Mormons do, but they are even more faithful to what they do believe.
Interesting that Orthodox, Catholics, and mainline Protestants seem to score high on the “hypocrisy” meter (again assuming I’m interpreting the chart right.)
[i]Nearly nine-in-ten Mormons in the U.S. (86%) are white, compared with 71% of the general population. Just 3% of Mormons are African-American and 7% are Latino.[/i]
30+ years after OD2 and 3% of the members are black? I honestly don’t know if that is good or not. I would also be curious where predominantly black church congregations get classified, since they don’t seem to be included in the “mainline Protestant” category (or maybe they are, but there are just that many more white Protestants?)
They note that less than half of Jehovah’s Witnesses are white; I wonder what they are doing differently than us?
There is also an interesting chart that says 57% of Mormons believe “My religion is the one true faith leading to eternal life”, whereas 39% believe “Many religions can lead to eternal life”. I wonder where the 39% came up with that idea (and what the heck do the other 4% believe)?
There is also a statistic that addresses the “Chapel Mormon” and “Internet Mormon” issue:
“There is one true way to interpret teachings of my religion” = 54%
“More than one way to interpret” = 43%
I’ve always been curious about that “division”; Internet Mormon vs. Chapel Mormon. I have been on the internet a lot, but I have been in my chapel a lot too. In fact, most LDS I’ve met on the internet frequent their chapel at least weekly, which is no more nor less often than the non-internet LDS I’ve known. So the naming makes no sense to me.
If you mean internet LDS vs. non-internet LDS. OK, but then I know many non-internet LDS that are quite open in thier interpretation of scripture. In fact a very large percentage of LDS, both on the internet and off, recognize that we are a dynamic religion and that the 9th article of faith pretty much requires us to be willing to accept change and “new light and knowledge”, as does the concept of “line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little”
Finally I’d have to say that I’ve run into the occasional LDS that has a young-earth viewpoint or maintains some form of what some would call a fundamentalist viewpoint, and I’ve met them both on and off the internet. So, again, the naming convention is pretty meaningless Cinepro.
– Ed