What Kind of Mormon Are You? (According To Research)

Newsletter: https://benjaminpark.kit.com/e8e78e2331 Are modern Latter-day Saints becoming less orthodox—and more like their neighbors? Drawing on the 2023–24 Pew Religious Landscape Study and Alex Bass’s “Mormon Typology,” this video breaks down fresh numbers on identity, observance, politics, and culture, then places them in a longer arc of Latter-day Saint adaptation. You’ll see how demographic shifts (including a near-vanished gender gap) and changing views on issues like same-sex marriage and evolution are reshaping the American LDS experience. Across four clusters—Devout Traditionalists, Adaptive Believers, Cultural Mormons, and In-Betweeners—we explore why “adaptive” now appears to be the largest group, and what history suggests about cycles of retrenchment and assimilation. We also connect these findings to earlier frames like Richard Poll’s “Iron Rod vs. Liahona” and recent generational research. Books: American Zion: https://amzn.to/4j8Ms16 Kingdom of Nauvoo: https://amzn.to/4cmigxw Resources: Pew Religious Landscape Survey: https://www.pewresearch.org/religious... The Mormon Typology: https://mormonmetrics.substack.com/p/... Salt Lake Tribune coverage: https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2025/... Jana Riess's The Next Mormons: https://thenextmormons.org/book/ Video Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:13 Pew overview 02:29 Demographics 04:36 Gender shift 05:56 Race shift 07:17 Program note 08:08 Education trend 09:17 Observance drop 10:36 Social views 11:46 Evolution view 12:42 Four types 13:39 Adaptive majority 15:27 Historical cycles 16:41 Millennial pattern 17:30 Data access 18:25 Open questions 19:22 Key takeaways 20:18 Outro #Mormonism #PewResearch #LDS #ReligiousTrends About This Channel: Welcome to the channel! I’m Dr. Benjamin Park—historian, author, professor, and unapologetic history geek. If you're tired of hearing that everything is unprecedented or nothing like this has ever happened before, you're in the right place. This channel dives into the complex (and fascinating) intersections of American religion, politics, and culture. I bring history out of the ivory tower and into real-world conversations—making it relevant, accessible, and even a little fun. Expect weekly deep dives, quick takes on current events, book recommendations, and sharp insights from the past to help us understand our present. From Mormon history to the abolitionist movement and beyond, let’s unpack how we got here—and where we might be going. Subscribe and geek out with me on the power of the past. This channel participants in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com Views expressed on this channel are those of the presenter and not his employer.