America's Most Devout? What the Data Says About Latter-day Saints

Latter-day Saints are about 2% of the United States — yet on nearly every measure of religious devotion, they finish first. This is what the numbers actually say. By the Numbers: • Weekly worship attendance — LDS 69% vs 25% national (Pew); Gallup puts them #1 of all faiths at 67% • From Pew's raw microdata — half of Latter-day Saints attend weekly, another 1 in 5 more than weekly; half of all Americans seldom or never attend • Daily prayer — 73% vs 44% nationally • Read scripture at home monthly — 72% (highest of any U.S. Christian group); 80% read scripture with their children • Believe miracles still occur today — 96% (more than any other Christian tradition) • "Very religious" (Gallup) 73% vs 41% nationally; religion "very important" (Pew) 73% vs 38% • Volunteered in the past year — 72%, the only U.S. religious group above 50%; ~36 hours/month (Univ. of Pennsylvania) • Pay a full tithe — 89% of active members One thread ties it together: the same habits researchers credit for Latter-day Saints living years longer — not smoking, weekly worship, stable marriage, education — are the very habits these charts measure. The honest caveat: surveys count those who still identify, and the devout are the ones who tend to stay. Sources: Pew Research Center 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study (incl. author's weighted tabulation of the public-use microdata) · Gallup · University of Pennsylvania "Called to Serve" (Cnaan et al., 2012). Latter-day Saints — by the Numbers.