9 ways US Mormons are changing, according to Pew data

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(RNS) — Christmas has come three months early, at least for me and other religion data nerds. Pew Research Center has just released a detailed 65-page report specifically about Latter-day Saints in America.

Called “Tradition and Change Among Latter-day Saints in the U.S.,” the report primarily utilizes Pew’s 2023 – 24 Religious Landscape Study , which had 515 current and 316 former members, and compares it to Pew’s data on Mormons from 2007 , 2011 and 2014 . This may sound like a small sample size, but it’s actually a great sample size for Mormons, who are only about 1 – 1.5% of the U.S. population. The most recent sample size for current LDS members is a little smaller than previous RLS reports, and, for former LDS members, it’s a bit bigger, likely reflecting the changes in more people leaving the church.

The margin of error for Latter-day Saints is plus or minus 6.2%, and for former Saints it’s 8.1%.

There’s a reason my headline is not of the “we’re more religious than everybody else!” variety. Folks, throughout survey history, Mormons have always been more religious than nearly…