Mormon Life - National Study tag

{Poll} Family Size

Thu, 24 May 2012 00:03:00 -0600

by Ashley Evanson
source: MormonLife.com

Mormon Life says: Apparently family size is going back up in America (after dipping down). How do Mormon families reflect these trends?

I recently ran across a study about family size in the United States that says the average household size has gone from 3.67 in 1930 down to 2.62 in 2000, but is now going back up. Interesting. I suspect some of that has to do with young adults moving back in with their parents due to economic circumstances, but not entirely.

Mormon families don't really fit into these statistics, though. Having only two children is on the lower end of the spectrum, and six is not really a novelty, especially if you live in Utah. I'm curious, though, has the Mormon household size followed the national trend, just on our own Mormon scale? Take the quiz below and let's find out.

Romney faces ‘stained glass ceiling’ with voters, study says

Wed, 23 May 2012 12:18:00 -0600

source: sltrib.com

Mormon Life says: Another study. This one shows those with only a passing association with Mormons are most likely to react negatively to information about Romney and Mormonism. Americans who have only passing contact with Mormons are more likely to react to negative information about Mitt Romney and his faith and less inclined to buy into the counter, pro-Mormon argument, according to a new study.

The research, by three political science professors, including one at Brigham Young University, contends that voters who know Mormons well (such as having a family member or close friend who is in the faith) tend to dismiss outside arguments about the religion, while those who have had no contact with Mormons were the "most persuadable" either for or against Romney and the Salt Lake City-based religion.

Stay-at-home mothers find challenge, reward in raising their children

Tue, 22 May 2012 09:55:00 -0600

source: deseretnews.com

When she turned in a job application, Nichole Whiting always knew what the job entailed. The exception is her current position: Stay-at-home mom, which many feel isn't work at all. It has been, she said, the most rewarding and challenging of positions.

The New York City woman has come to view being a mom as a profession. She looks at her day and its productivity and output, what she accomplished and what her goals are, both short-term and long-term. Like any job she's ever thrived in, it requires networking, sharpening all her skills, doing research. And her college degree and previous jobs all help her in her efforts to be the best mom she can and to help her children mature and thrive.

Study argues Romney’s ‘religion problem’ is exaggerated

Thu, 17 May 2012 11:17:00 -0600

source: nytimes.com

A new study released by the Brookings Institution argues that Mitt Romney’s Mormon religion is unlikely to hurt him at the polls in November.

The researchers based the conclusion on an experiment in which people were asked whether they planned to vote for Mr. Romney or Mr. Obama. Some of the respondents were first given information about Mr. Romney’s religion – and in some cases, quite detailed information – while others were given none. Those who received the information first were no less likely to support Mr. Romney.

Change lowers LDS Church growth rate

Thu, 03 May 2012 09:40:00 -0600

source: sltrib.com

Mormon Life says: This might technically be true, but according to the researchers from the Religion Census, "It's no big deal." If you suspected the newly released U.S. Religion Census overstated the LDS Church’s growth rate, you were right. That’s because, this time around, the Utah-based faith changed the way it reported its membership to the researchers.

The once-a-decade study was assembled by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies, which included self-reported data on adherents for 153 participating bodies.

Religion census reveals substantial LDS growth

Wed, 02 May 2012 08:02:00 -0600

source: deseretnews.com

Mormon Life says: The maps and graphs are the best part. At a time when major religious groups around the United States are experiencing significant declines in membership, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints continues to grow substantially, according to the 2010 decennial U.S. Religion Census released today by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies.

The findings, released today in Chicago during the annual meetings of the Associated Church Press, show that while Catholic churches reported a 5 percent decline in membership during the decade that ended in 2010 and mainline Christian denominations reported a 12.8 percent decline during the same time period, the LDS Church reported growth of 45.5 percent.

The number of adherents to the Muslim faith in the United States grew by 66.7 percent.

U.S. religions, by the numbers

Wed, 02 May 2012 08:00:00 -0600

source: sltrib.com

Mormon Life says: Numbers according to the U.S. Religion Census. Total number of religious adherents nationwide » 150,686,156

Percentage of total U.S. population »48.8

Religions by percent of U.S. population, 2010:

BYU, University of Utah business schools on News and World Report's 'most popular' list

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 09:22:00 -0600

source: deseretnews.com

Two business schools in Utah, Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Business and the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business, have joined the ranks of Harvard and Stanford on U.S. News & World Report’s Most Popular Business Schools list.

The rankings were based on the schools’ yields, or the percentage of full-time applicants accepted to the schools that decide to enroll there.

Utah tops nation in traditional family categories

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 08:53:00 -0600

source: sltrib.com

An analysis released Wednesday by the U.S. Census Bureau shows that as Americans move more to a "Modern Family" model, Utah is sticking closer to the traditional "Ozzie and Harriet" lifestyle.

Utah has the nation’s highest percentage of households headed by married couples and the highest percentage of homes with children.

The census report also shows Utah has the most people per household; the lowest percentage of singles living alone; the lowest percentage of households headed by unmarried opposite-sex couples living together; and one of the country’s lowest percentages of same-sex couples living together.

Jewish-Americans strongly prefer Mormons over evangelicals

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 10:05:00 -0600

source: deseretnews.com

New survey information shows that the feelings of Jewish-Americans toward Mormons are more than twice as favorable as what Jews feel for evangelical Christians.

Released earlier this month, the 2012 Jewish Values Survey was conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute. Among several questions, Jewish respondents were asked to rate their feelings toward other religious groups on a 100-point scale — with 1 being least favorable and 100 most favorable.

Mormon volunteerism discussed by scholars at Pew Forum

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 11:38:00 -0600

source: Newsroom.lds.org

Mormon Life says: Click on the forwarding link to view the Pew Forum's full transcript. It's pretty cool. Mormon volunteerism got the attention of the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. The research and survey group hosted an event titled “Mormons and Civic Life,” during which University of Pennsylvania professor Ram Canaan presented recent findings about Mormon volunteerism and charitable giving in the United States.

“What did we find?” Canaan asked. “For religious activities, [church-going Mormons] give on average 242 hours; for church-affiliated volunteering to help meet social needs of people in the church, 96 hours; for church-affiliated activities helping people outside the church, 56 hours; and for [volunteer] activities outside of the church totally, 34 hours.

American Public says religious news too polarizing, journalists disagree

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 10:24:00 -0600

source: deseretnews.com

A majority of the American public says religious news coverage is too sensationalized, while less than 30 percent of journalists agree according to a survey released Thursday.

The survey released jointly by the Knight Program in Media and Religion at the University of Southern California and the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron also found that only 18.9 percent of journalists were "very knowledgeable" about religion, with most reporters in that minority admitting to be familiar with their own religious traditions and not a wide array of faiths.

Mormon Media Observer: It always comes back to Joseph Smith

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 10:02:00 -0600

source: MormonTimes.com

Mormon Life says: In a Pew study, more people knew that Joseph Smith was Mormon than could identify the first four books of the New Testament. It might come as a shock to MSNBC commentator Lawrence O'Donell, but many Latter-day Saints might well see O'Donell's mean-spirited remarks late last week about the Prophet Joseph Smith as evidence, ironically, that Joseph was a prophet.

In "The History of Joseph Smith, the Prophet," published in the late 1830s, Joseph wrote that Angel Moroni appeared to him and said "that God had a work for me to do; and that my name should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds and tongues, or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people."

Mormon Media Observer: Crisis of the American family

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 12:12:00 -0600

source: deseretnews.com

Mormon Life says: I believe this is the study Elder Ballard was referring to in his general conference talk. While it is true that the news coverage of the epic health care debate in the Supreme Court represents one of the most important news stories in recent years, one story with implications for the future of the American republic, a potentially bigger news story, went largely ignored.

The traditional American family continues to break.

That's a key takeaway from a quadrennial study by the National Center for Health Statistics recently released. It was a large-scale study of more than 20,000 people. News coverage of the report was spotty and uneven at best.

Among the study's findings:

Utah man researches why people leave the LDS Church

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 10:42:00 -0600

source: hjnews.townnews.com

Mormon Life says: One of the reasons the researcher found is the Internet. So sad. A Utah State University researcher will unveil the findings of a new study exploring why members of the LDS Church lose their testimonies and what happens afterward at a lecture today at Utah Valley University in Orem.

John Dehlin, who has studied under USU’s psychology doctoral program, has worked for the past year on the “Understanding Mormon Disbelief” study, which involved a survey of 3,086 disaffected Mormons who have gone through a “crisis of faith.”

In Utah, religion is truly an all-or-nothing proposition

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 10:44:00 -0600

source: MormonTimes.com

Mormon Life says: Interesting, but not really a surprise. The infographics are neat. A new survey from Gallup details religious observance in America by dividing each state's population into three categories: very religious, moderately religious and nonreligious. And suffice it to say, the data reveals Utah's religiosity is far and away the most statistically extreme in the nation.

Specifically, the statistical uniqueness of the Beehive State's religiosity is captured in the following trends:

Good news, missionaries: 'Being bilingual makes you smarter'

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 09:14:00 -0600

source: deseretnews.com

Bilingualism makes brains of all ages more adept at multitasking, ignoring distractions and monitoring the surrounding environment, according to an op-ed piece in the New York Times by Science Magazine staff writer Yudhijit Bhattacharjee.

"Being bilingual, it turns out, makes you smarter," Bhattacharjee wrote. "It can have a profound effect on your brain, improving cognitive skills not related to language and even shielding against dementia in old age. … The bilingual experience improves the brain’s so-called executive function — a command system that directs the attention processes that we use for planning, solving problems and performing various other mentally demanding tasks."

BYU ranked among top 40

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 11:01:00 -0600

source: ldschurchnews.com

Brigham Young University's law and business schools are both among the Top 40 in the country, according to the latest U.S. News & World Report graduate school rankings, released March 13. The J. Reuben Clark Law School is ranked 39th, jumping three spots from last year's rankings, while the Marriott School of Management is ranked 34th. Other BYU graduate programs and specialties rank in the top 100 of their categories.

Nearly 90 percent of Mormons tithe regularly, researchers confirm

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 10:54:00 -0600

source: christianpost.com

Nearly 90 percent of Mormons reported tithing regularly, new research shows. Researchers who presented their findings on the charitable habits of members of the Church of Jesus Church of Latter-day Saints are confident in the reliability of the responses from Mormons surveyed.

Ram Cnaan, director of the Program for Religion and Social Policy Research for the University of Pennsylvania, told The Christian Post that although his research did not verify the responses from Mormons surveyed, other studies indicated that the data could be trusted.

Gallup: Provo-Orem, Utah most optimistic US city

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 12:32:00 -0600

source: gallup.com

Mormon Life says: It has scientifically earned the name Happy Valley. While the vast majority of Americans express satisfaction about the community or area where they live, residents of some metro areas are highly optimistic about where their community is headed, whereas residents of other communities are largely discouraged. Across 190 U.S. metro areas, residents of Provo-Orem, Utah, are the most likely nationwide to say their city or area is getting better as a place to live (76%), while residents of Binghamton, N.Y., are the least likely to say this (27.8%).