The recent findings from the 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study (RLS), conducted by the Pew Research Center in collaboration with the University of Chicago’s NORC, provide a comprehensive snapshot of the evolving demographic and social landscape of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) in the United States. This extensive survey, which involved a nationally representative sample of 36,908 American adults, serves as a cornerstone for understanding how the Latter-day Saint population compares to the broader national religious tapestry. As the U.S. religious environment faces a period of shifting affiliations, the study offers granular insights into the specific, localized experiences of Mormon adherents across various regions, educational backgrounds, and political leanings.
A Chronological Overview of Religious Tracking
The Pew Research Center has maintained a consistent interest in the religious identity of Americans for nearly two decades. The 2023-24 RLS represents the latest iteration of a longitudinal research project that tracks shifts in faith, identity, and practice. To contextualize these findings, it is essential to look at the preceding studies conducted in 2007, 2011, and 2014. These earlier reports were characterized by telephone-based interviewing, a methodology that allowed for direct, real-time dialogue with respondents.
In those earlier iterations, the question regarding religious identity was relatively straightforward: “What is your present religion, if any?” The survey provided a list of options, including “Mormon,” to help classify the respondent. The 2023-24 study, however, marked a significant pivot in methodology, utilizing primarily self-administered online or paper-based questionnaires. In this most recent survey, the terminology was updated to reflect the full name of the organization: “Mormon (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or LDS).” This shift in phrasing reflects the ongoing organizational emphasis on the formal title of the faith, ensuring that data collection remains aligned with the contemporary identity of the church.
Methodology and Sampling Accuracy
Data integrity remains the primary concern for the researchers involved in the 2023-24 RLS. The sheer scale of the survey—nearly 37,000 respondents—provides a robust foundation for analyzing smaller religious subgroups, such as the 565 Latter-day Saints identified within the sample. Because smaller subgroups carry inherently higher margins of sampling error, the Pew Research Center has provided a conservative breakdown of these margins at a 95% confidence level.
For instance, the overall margin of error for the 565 Latter-day Saint respondents is 6.2 percentage points. When further subdivided, the data reveals specific nuances:
- Gender-based samples: The survey captured 253 men and 308 women, with respective margins of error of 9.7 and 7.5 percentage points.
- Generational divides: Respondents aged 18-49 numbered 247, while those 50 and older numbered 311, providing a glimpse into the generational transition within the church.
- Geographic distribution: A significant concentration of 332 respondents resides in the Mountain region, reflecting the historical and cultural heartland of the LDS faith in the U.S.
- Educational attainment: The sample was split between 303 individuals with a bachelor’s degree or higher and 262 with less formal education.
These metrics are crucial for sociologists who study religious trends, as they allow for a more precise understanding of which demographic cohorts are driving the growth or contraction of specific religious identities.
Defining the Latter-day Saint Identity
One of the most complex aspects of surveying religious identity is the classification process. Throughout the 2007, 2011, and 2014 studies, the researchers utilized follow-up questions to distinguish between members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other denominations with historical ties to the 19th-century Restoration movement, such as the Community of Christ.
In these earlier studies, roughly 98% of those who self-identified as “Mormon” confirmed their affiliation with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While the 2023-24 RLS did not include this specific follow-up, the data remains highly consistent. In previous years, researchers also back-coded those who volunteered specific identities—such as “fundamentalist Latter-day Saint”—into the broader Mormon category. In the latest study, this practice was largely retired, yet the impact is negligible; only six out of the 36,908 total respondents volunteered an identity that would have historically been reclassified into the Mormon category. This indicates that the current landscape of the faith in America is largely monolithic in terms of how adherents identify themselves in public surveys.
Broader Implications and Sociological Analysis
The slowing of the decline of Christianity in the U.S., as suggested by the broader RLS findings, provides a unique backdrop for the specific data on Latter-day Saints. For years, observers have tracked a "secularization" trend across the U.S. population. The stabilization of these numbers suggests that the religious landscape may be entering a period of consolidation rather than rapid attrition.
For the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, these numbers provide a baseline for internal reflection. By comparing the experiences of "lifelong" members versus "converts," the data points to the church’s ability to retain its base while integrating new members. The high percentage of respondents who identify as "Rep/lean Rep" (412 out of the 565) also aligns with long-standing sociological observations regarding the political leanings of the LDS population in the United States, suggesting that despite changing cultural tides, the correlation between religious identity and conservative political affiliation remains a persistent feature of the landscape.
Expert and Institutional Perspectives
While the Pew Research Center maintains its role as a neutral, data-driven entity, the implications of this study are widely discussed by religious scholars. Dr. Jonathan Evans and Rebecca Leppert, the authors of the 2026 report "Tradition and Change Among Latter-day Saints in the U.S.," emphasize that the stability of the Latter-day Saint community is a significant outlier in a period where many mainline denominations are seeing a sharp decrease in membership.
The fact that the study covers both English and Spanish-speaking populations reflects the church’s international growth and the changing demographics of the United States. Observers suggest that the church’s emphasis on global missionary work is increasingly reflected in the domestic diversity of its membership. However, as the data shows, the concentration in the Mountain region continues to serve as the structural anchor for the faith in the U.S.
Conclusion and Future Outlook
The 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study stands as a definitive reference point for the mid-2020s. By moving toward a more standardized self-identification process and leveraging a massive sample size, the Pew Research Center has provided a clearer window into the lives of Latter-day Saints than ever before.
As the U.S. approaches the latter half of the decade, the ability to compare these figures with the 2007 baseline will be invaluable. The data suggests that while the landscape is changing, the core identity of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints remains robust. The study not only provides a headcount but also offers a detailed breakdown of the internal diversity of the group—highlighting differences between age groups, educational levels, and regional clusters. This nuance is vital for those looking to understand the interplay between faith and society in a modern, often fragmented, American context. The continued monitoring of these trends will undoubtedly remain a primary interest for sociologists, theologians, and policy experts alike as they navigate the complexities of 21st-century religious life.
