The Next Mormons: How Millennials are Changing the LDS Church

Synopsis

American Millennials--the generation born in the 1980s and 1990s--have been leaving organized religion in unprecedented numbers. For a long time, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was an exception: nearly three-quarters of people who grew up Mormon stayed that way into adulthood. In The Next Mormons, Jana Riess demonstrates that things are starting to change. Drawing on a large-scale national study of four generations of current and former Mormons as well as dozens of in-depth personal interviews, Riess explores the religious beliefs and behaviors of young adult Mormons, finding that while their levels of belief remain strong, their institutional loyalties are less certain than their parents' and grandparents'. For a growing number of Millennials, the tensions between the Church's conservative ideals and their generation's commitment to individualism and pluralism prove too high, causing them to leave the faith--often experiencing deep personal anguish in the process. Those who remain within the fold are attempting to carefully balance the Church's strong emphasis on the traditional family with their generation's more inclusive definition that celebrates same-sex couples and women's equality. Mormon families are changing too. More Mormons are remaining single, parents are having fewer children, and more women are working outside the home than a generation ago. The Next Mormons offers a portrait of a generation navigating between traditional religion and a rapidly changing culture. "If you care about the LDS Church,... pay attention to this book. Jana Riess's magisterial work The Next Mormons combines top-notch social science research methods--both broad data sample and careful personal interviews--to produce a beautiful, unflinching portrait of twenty-first century Mormonism. Riess loves our complex, challenging religion, and she expresses that love by producing a book that brings all of us in for a truthful, robust conversation about who we are, how Young Mormons feel, and where they will lead us next. The Next Mormons should be counted among the most important books ever produced in the field of American religious studies. It is a model of engaged scholarship. Thank you, Sister Riess, and onward!"---Joanna Brooks, author of The Book of Mormon Girl

Copyright:

2019

Book Details

Book Quality:

Excellent

Book Size:

312 Pages

ISBN-13:

9780190885205

Publisher:

Oxford University Press

Date of Addition:

12/19/24

Copyrighted By:

Jana Riess

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

Nonfiction, Religion and Spirituality

Submitted By:

Terry Gorman

Proofread By:

Terry Gorman

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.