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The Paradox of Congregational Involvement
but Denominational Loyalty:
Insights on Latter-day Saint (LDS) Congregations from the 2015 National Survey of Congregations
The 2015 National Survey of Congregations provides some interesting insights on Latter-day Saint ("LDS" or "Mormon") congregations. It shows that Latter-day Saints are highly committed to, and involved in, their local congregations but, paradoxically, they emphasize loyalty to the denomination even more than loyalty to the congregation. These findings contrast with findings about Evangelical and Mainline Protestants.
High Congregational Commitment and Involvement
The expectation and reality is that Latter-day Saints are highly committed to service in their local congregations. For example, when asked, "How easy or difficult is it for your congregation to recruit people for volunteer leadership roles (for example, serving on governing boards or committees, or teaching Sunday School)?" 70% of LDS congregational leaders said, "We have no problem recruiting" vs. 28% of Evangelical leaders and 26% of Mainline Protestant leaders.
[1]
Similarly, when asked, "Overall, to what extent are your participants involved in the congregation's programs, committees and service projects outside of worship?" 81% of LDS bishops said, "Quite a bit" or "A lot" vs. 50% of Evangelical and 60% Mainline Protestant leaders.
[2]
Greater Denominational than Congregational Loyalty and Identity
While it might seem paradoxical given their high commitment to and involvement in the local congregation, Latter-day Saint religious instruction actually focuses much more on denominational loyalty than congregational loyalty. Indeed, more than twice as many LDS bishops say denominational loyalty is a high priority in their Sunday religious instruction (47%) than say congregational loyalty is (22%).
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Philadelphia Temple of the LDS (Mormon) Church, under construction in December, 2015. CC license.
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By contrast, the
opposite
pattern appears in the responses of both Evangelical and Mainline Protestants.
[3]
Among Evangelical leaders, half as many (19%) say denominational loyalty is a high priority than say congregational loyalty is (37%). Though the figures are considerably lower for Mainline Protestants, the same pattern holds: 7% say denominational loyalty is a high priority vs. 13% that say congregational loyalty is.
In a related finding, 94% of LDS bishops say denominational identity and affiliation is "very important" to the majority of their members, vs. 32% of Evangelical congregation leaders and 27% of Mainline Protestant leaders.
[4]
Why the high congregational commitment and involvement in a denomination-centered religion? And why the huge differences between leader reports from LDS congregations compared to Evangelical and Mainline Protestant congregations? Unlike many Protestant congregations,
LDS
congregations, are not merely affiliated with a larger denomination. They are integrally part of a single denomination-The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Indeed, to serve members in specific geographic areas and to maintain optimally sized congregations, LDS congregations are created (and dissolved) by leaders at Church headquarters. In addition, "Latter-day Saints believe that divine authority was lost in the ancient church after the death of the apostles" but has been restored and is now found (only) in the LDS Church.
[5]
Therefore, while LDS religiosity and social networks are centered in the family and congregation, members' religious commitment is ultimately to the LDS Church, meaning the denomination, not to their particular congregation.
[1]
The wording on the LDS version of the survey was, "How easy or difficult is it for your ward to call people...."
[2] On the LDS version of the survey the word "congregation" was changed to the LDS term "ward."
[3] The default wording on this survey item leader was, "In your judgment how high or low a priority is each of the following for your Religious Education program for all members in the congregation?" And the default wording on the relevant sub-items was "To develop congregational loyalty" and "To develop denominational loyalty." However, the wording on the LDS version of the survey was modified to reflect the fact that the "religious education program for all members in the congregation" is Sunday School, and congregations are called "wards." The wording on the LDS version of the survey therefore read, "In your judgment how high or low a priority is each of the following for Sunday School," with response options "To develop ward loyalty" and "To develop loyalty to the LDS Church." We combined those who marked the response options "high priority" and "highest priority," which were the same in both versions of the survey.
[4] The default wording was "How important is your denominational identity and affiliation to the majority of your members?" and the LDS wording was "How important is your ward's identity and affiliation with the LDS Church to the majority of your members?"
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Coming Soon:
In addition to web resources and other facts about congregational life in the US, we will highlight new findings from our 2015 national research including reports on religious congregational use of technology, and congregational growth and vitality.
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FACT 2015 Research Reports
Explore a summary of findings from our study of over 4400 congregations.
Examine extensive material from our survey on young adult ministry and uncover the patterns and dynamics of those congregations with significant percentages of persons 18-34 years old in their memberships.
Explore religious education and Sunday school programs patterns and key insights and action steps for leaders of religious congregations who want to improve their educational offerings.
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