Education, Religious Participation, and Conservatism Among Mormons in the United States

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between education and measures of religiosity, family structure, and conservative values comparing members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons or LDS) with the nation using the General Social Surveys from 1972 to 2018. Compared to the country at large, education is more likely to be associated with church attendance, marriage and child-bearing, and conservative values among Mormons. As a result, the LDS Church has a much higher percentage of members who attend church regularly, have been to college, and are conservative. Despite dramatic social change over the last several decades, the differential influence of education persists.