Download Word document - The Association of Religion Data Archives

ARDA LEARNING RESOURCES
Exploring Denominations: Mormons in America
Exploring Denominations: Mormons in America
Of the many religions that originated in the United States, one of the largest and most
widespread is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as the Mormon
Church). Like members of many churches in the United States, Mormons can be found in
most areas of the country. However, while they may be located in every region, they make up
a different proportion of the population depending on which state they’re located in. In this
Learning Module, we’ll explore how members of religions (and Mormons in particular) are
spread throughout the United States.
Open your web browser and go to the homepage for the Association of Religion Data
Archives (www.theARDA.com).
Start by searching for information on the Mormon Church in “QuickLists.” Go to the
“QuickLists” section of the site. Under “U.S. Religious Groups,” click “A-C” and then
“Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” Then click on “States.” Using this information,
answer the following questions:
1. Which three states have the largest percent Mormon population? (Hint: Re-sort the list by
clicking on the “Percent” column heading.)
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
2. Which three states have the largest number of Mormon adherents? (Hint: Re-sort the list
by clicking on the “Adherents” column heading.)
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Next, go to the “Religious Groups” section of the ARDA, and then click on the “Religious
Groups” tab. Remember, Mormons are often referred to as Latter-day Saints. Click on the
COPYRIGHT  ASSOCIATION OF RELIGION DATA ARCHIVES | 1 of 4
ARDA LEARNING RESOURCES
Exploring Denominations: Mormons in America
“Latter-day Saints Family (Mormonism)” and select the “Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints.”
Here you will find historical information about the church as well as official membership
data. For assistance using religious group profiles on the ARDA, click here.
3. What year was the Mormon Church founded?
___________________________________________________________________________
Next, click on the “Distribution” tab. [Note: This map will not come up if you are using
Mozilla Firefox.]
4. Briefly describe the distribution of Mormonism across the United States. In what regions of
the country do Mormons tend to be concentrated?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
5. Is this distribution surprising to you? Why or why not? What do you know about Mormon
history that might explain this distribution pattern?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
6. Using the QuickList links, which U.S. county has the highest rate of Mormon adherents? Is
it in the state in which you thought it would be?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Go back to the distributions map for the LDS church. Next, click on “click here” below the
map of the United States. Above the map of the United States, you will see a table titled
COPYRIGHT  ASSOCIATION OF RELIGION DATA ARCHIVES | 2 of 4
ARDA LEARNING RESOURCES
Exploring Denominations: Mormons in America
“Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints--Rates Of Adherence Per 1000 Population
(2010).” Find your state in this table. [Note: This link will not come up if you are using
Mozilla Firefox.]
7. What is your state?
___________________________________________________________________________
8. Are there many Mormons in your state or just a few? How many Mormons are in your
state?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Next we will examine how the number of members in the Mormon Church has changed over
time. Click “back” on your web browser and then select the “Trends” tab at the top of the
page. [Note: These tables do not appear if you are using Internet Explorer.]
9. Looking at the trends on the graph, has the membership of the Mormon church grown or
declined over time?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
10. So far we have been looking at the largest denomination of Mormonism (i.e., The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). Now, go back and select another denomination within
the Latter-day Saints family to examine. What is the history of this denomination? For
assistance using the denominational profiles feature, click here.
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
COPYRIGHT  ASSOCIATION OF RELIGION DATA ARCHIVES | 3 of 4
ARDA LEARNING RESOURCES
Exploring Denominations: Mormons in America
11. How many members were there in this group in the most recent year in which data was
collected? Based on the long-term trends for this group, would you expect this group to
continue growing, declining, or to remain stable in the near future?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
COPYRIGHT  ASSOCIATION OF RELIGION DATA ARCHIVES | 4 of 4