Christian Leaders and Organizations to Hold Prayer Vigil at Afghanistan Embassy

WASHINGTON, (christiansunite.com) -- The Christian Defense Coalition and Hillside Missions will pray at the Embassy on Wednesday, August 19, at 11:00 A.M.

The Embassy of Afghanistan is located at 2341 Wyoming Ave. NW in Washington, D.C.

The national elections in Afghanistan will take place on Thursday, August 20.

The organizations are encouraging the faith community around America to pray for the people of Afghanistan during this critical time and stand in solidarity with them as they embrace democratic freedoms.

The Christian Defense Coalition organized prayer vigils for the national elections in Iraq and travelled to Baghdad as the guests of Prime Minister Maliki two years ago.

Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Director of the Christian Defense Coalition, states,

"We are calling upon the faith community in America to pray for the nation of Afghanistan during their critical national elections on August 20. We will be asking for God's protection over all the heroic citizens of Afghanistan who go to the polling places in spite of threats of violence.

"It is important, not only for the people of Afghanistan, but for the free nations of the world that these elections are not marred by intimidation, corruption or violence. It is critical for the wonderful citizens of Afghanistan to have a clear voice in the future of their country.

"It is also important for the Christian community of this nation to build a bridge to the Muslim world that demonstrates real love and genuine concern for those who embrace the Islamic faith.

"Our prayers for a fair and safe election process demonstrate to the people of Afghanistan that the faith community of America stands in solidarity with them and hopefully we will be able to build a deep relationship of trust and understanding as we did with Iraq."

Pray for Jerusalem, but tell a Jew about Jesus

You can tell me till the cows come home or the chickens come home to roost every reason you have in the World NOT TO TELL A JEW about Jesus....,

but read this below and are you really THAT SELFISH about your salvation?

I mean, as a Jew, I know, there is an obnoxious quality to dealing with human beings ....no matter who they are, and Jew? oy, but....,

You O Man are commanded........, first to the Jew....,

Let me give you a tip on HOW TO witness to a Jew:

JUST LOVE THEM TO SALVATION....,

We already know your a hypocrite, a failure, a poor excuse for perfection...., in other words.........., you are just like us...Human Beings....BUT:

We got Orthodox who think they got a Better Way when you got a more excellent way....Love of Jesus.

You just Love Jesus and talk about you're love for him. Tell we Jews about it...we'll come running.

But if you leave a open grave and the haunting words of Tamar Yonah as the Last Word about what Jesus told every Christian to do.....Comfort ye, comfort ye my people (not money! Jesus) then I question what are you reading and can you read the parts in Red Letters please!

-Michael James Stone

Your Grave Awaits

by Tamar Yonah

Av 26, 5769, 8/16/2009

It's Saturday night here. I just got back from a funeral. Walking to the grave to bury my friend's mother, we passed many graves that were prepared and waiting for future use. Looking at all these not yet occupied graves, I thought to myself, "Here is where it all ends.

(This is a photo of a grave off the internet. I of course did not take any pictures myself.)

This is what waits for us all. All we take with us is the mitzvoth and good deeds that we do in this world while we still have the gift of life.

I am looking at the talk backs below in my previous blog post and all the misunderstandings between people, sarcasm, fear, etc. that one finds there. Folks, let's concentrate on doing good, spreading goodness, being kind and loving, and give the benefit of the doubt to each other before clawing at each other's throats. How much time do we have on this earth anyway? Life is a gift. The TIME we have on this earth is everything and I know I need to use it more wisely.

So do you hate me? Are you angry with me because I believe that the safest place in the world for Jews will be in Israel? Are you angry because I truly worry about people's safety and don't want a repeat of all the past tragic history our people have suffered in different host countries of the world where they also thought "It won't happen here"?

You know, we were really prospering in Egypt when Yoseph (Joseph) was the Prime Minister and served the Pharoah. Joseph saved Egypt from starvation, and we came to live in Goshen and sank our heels in and started living great. Things were really good! Yet even with our glorious contributions to Egypt with a former Jewish PM saving the country from ruin, things turned sour. It ended up that the Jews were put into harsh slavery, saw the horrible murder of our Jewish male babies and were cast into a future of a living hell. No one thought it would happen. But the good life all went south, as slowly, we were lulled into slavery without even realizing it, and then it was too late. Pharaoh also closed the gates of Egypt on us and wouldn't let the Jews leave. Lesson learned? Apparently not.

Move up in history: We were doing great in Persia, the Jewish echelon were invited to the King's palace for a banquet and even kosher food was served. What an honor! We even had a Jew in the White House (sic) - Esther was married to the King! I mean, what could go wrong??? And then one day it all flipped around. Anti-Semitism was on the slow cooker, and then the temperature was turned up and the next thing you know, notices were given to kill all the Jews, from babies to the elderly. Boom, just like that. The Jews were scratching their heads wondering how this could happen!

Then there was the golden age in Spain, Jews were prosperous, well to do, had Jewish schools and synagogues all over, and some even worked for the King and Queen as their advisors and/or government officials. The Spanish / Iberian Jewish community remained the most important in the world especially with the decline of the Academies of Babylonia.

Let's not forget Germany. Germany was the most cultured and hip country in all of Europe. Berlin was the city that swung. Poets, philosophers, artists, homosexuals, and cabaret people sat at cafes smoking their cigarettes and philosophized about the world. Life was good for Jews, especially those who assimilated and were just as German as the Germans. In fact, they called Berlin the 'New Jerusalem'. So how could anyone imagine that the most liberal, hip, sophisticated and cultured country in Europe, end up gassing Jews and burning them in ovens? If you would tell the Jews of that time that this would happen, they'd call the men with white coats t come and take you away.

And now many Jews persuade themselves that nothing will happen to their good life in America, and that America is 'different'.

I watch trends. I watch the headlines and the news, and I read the Tanach and what it says will happen if we follow, or don't follow the Torah. I am also the daughter of a holocaust survivor, so I listen and am sensitive to the signs that I see. I remember my father telling me that when he was a boy, that Jabotinsky, who came to warn the Jews that Europe was on fire and that they should leave and make aliyah, was banned from synagogues for being an alarmist. No one wanted to listen, because no one wanted to leave their comfort zones. It's hard, I realize it, but folks, the world is now on fire again. it's not a blaze ...yet. But once it does become a blaze, it will be too late. Too late. Too late.

So? So I warn people about what is happening and what may happen to Jews if they stay stuck in the Exile. Does that make me evil? A nut case? An alarmist? Or does it make me someone who really cares and is trying to shake you awake from the deep slumber and denial most Jews have today regarding their future in the Diaspora? So I ask them, beg them, to come home to Israel. If this is my crime, then so be it. We are all sooner or later going to end up in the grave. What will you take with you from the deeds you did in this world? Will you go to shamayim (Heaven) saying you rejected the Land of our inheritance, the Land of Israel, our home, because you were too busy on the treadmill of life, running, running, running to work, classes, appointments, stores, and then to sleep, and then back to it again the next day? What are you grooming your children for? So they can grow up and go to a university and get an education so they can in turn make a lot of money and buy into the materialistic world and get up on their own treadmill and run like a rat, and then prepare THEIR children, your grandchildren, for the same? Do you really LIVE, or just EXIST? Why is one's bank account more important than their future and their future generations? Have we so succumbed to the materialist culture of the West that we have forgotten the true meaning of life?

What is important, I mean REALLY important to you, that you would be willing to change your life for? Or is leaving your comfortable life's routine and changing your life too hard for you? Will you choose to stay behind in Egypt and die there, or follow that old 'crazy', alarmist and revolutionary, Moses, and march into the wilderness for the Promised Land? What would you have done if you lived at that time? I think if it was me, I would have thought, "I don't know what awaits me in the wilderness, and I am scared of leaving everything I know in Egypt, but I know one thing, and that is, that whatever happens if I go, good or bad, easy or hard, I want to entwine my destiny with the Jewish people. I want to follow what G-d says is best for me. I am going to march forward, though I am scared, though I know not what awaits me, because I am a Jew, and that's the life I shall chose to live, - with my People!"

I will say it again, we are all sooner or later going to end up in the grave. What will you take with you from the deeds that you did in this world? Will you be happy with the life you chose to live, or will you kick yourself that you didn't break out and do what you truly knew what was right and good? Your grave awaits.

A Portrait of Mormons in the U.S.(Social and Political Views)

A Portrait of Mormons in the U.S.

Social and Political Views

President Barack Obama meets with (from left) Sen. Harry Reid;
Joshua DuBois, Director of the White House Office for Faith-
Based and Neighborhood Partnerships; LDS Church President
Thomas Monson and Elder Dallin Oaks in the Oval Office on
July 20, 2009.

Mormons stand out from the general population and other major religious traditions for their conservatism on both cultural and political issues. Strong majorities of Mormons say there are absolute standards of right and wrong and that they feel their values are often threatened by Hollywood. They also are considerably more Republican than any other major religious tradition, including members of evangelical Protestant churches, and tend to take conservative positions on whether abortion should be legal or illegal, whether homosexuality should be accepted or discouraged by society and views of the size and role of government.

A Portrait of Mormons in the U.S.

I. Demography

II. Religious Beliefs and Practices

III. Social and Political Views

Pew Forum Resource Page on Mormonism

More: Research, news, other websites

On issues of foreign affairs, Mormons stand out for their view that the U.S. should be active in world affairs and for being slightly more likely than others to favor military strength over diplomacy.

Morality and Modern Society
Political Ideology and Partisanship
Social and Political Issues
Size and Role of Government
Foreign Affairs
Political and Social Differences Among Mormons

Morality and Modern Society

A strong majority of Mormons (88%) say there are absolute standards of right and wrong. This is higher than among the general population and most other religious traditions.

A significant portion of Mormons (68%) also agree that their values are often threatened by Hollywood, which is much higher than among the general population (42%). The religious traditions that are the next most likely to agree are Jehovah's Witnesses (54%) and members of evangelical Protestant churches (53%). In all other major religious traditions, a majority disagree that their values are often threatened by Hollywood and the entertainment industry.

On the question of living in a modern society, however, Mormons tend to resemble the general population. Just a third of Mormons (36%) agree with the statement that there is a conflict between being religious and living in a modern society, which is similar to the percentage among the general public (40%). Jehovah's Witnesses (59%), members of evangelical Protestant churches (49%) and members of historically black Protestant churches (46%) are more likely than Mormons to perceive such a conflict.

Political Ideology and Partisanship

Mormons are very politically conservative. Six-in-ten Mormons identify as conservative, about three-in-ten (27%) say they consider themselves moderate and only one-in-ten identify as liberal. This is in stark contrast to the general population, in which roughly a third identify as conservative (37%), a third as moderate (36%) and 20% as liberal.

The summer 2007 Landscape Survey finds that an even larger share of Mormons identify as Republicans or lean toward the Republican Party than identify as conservative. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of Mormons say they identify with or lean toward the Republican party, 15 percentage points higher than among members of evangelical churches (50%) and 30 points higher than among the general population (35%). Just one-fifth of Mormons (22%) say they are Democrats and the remainder say they do not favor either party. Members of historically black churches are the only religious group in which there is more consensus in partisanship than Mormons, with 77% identifying as Democrats.

This places Mormons to the right of all other major religious traditions on a continuum of ideology and partisanship; in fact, they are somewhat more conservative and Republican than members of evangelical Protestant churches. By contrast, smaller, non-Christian religious traditions, such as Hindus, Buddhists and Jews, cluster around the liberal, Democratic end of the spectrum. Members of historically black Protestant churches are the farthest along the Democratic spectrum but are more conservative than members of other faiths that lean Democratic.

Social and Political Issues

In line with their party identification and ideology, most Mormons take an anti-abortion or "pro-life" position on the issue of abortion. Fully 70% say abortion should be illegal in most or all circumstances, compared with 42% among the general population. Unlike other major religious traditions that oppose abortion, however, Mormon opposition is concentrated on opposing it in most cases (61%) rather than in all cases (9%). Among members of evangelical Protestant churches, by contrast, 36% say abortion should be illegal in most cases and 25% say it should be illegal in all cases.

Two-thirds of Mormons (68%) say homosexuality should be discouraged rather than accepted by society. This is comparable to the figure among members of evangelical Protestant churches (64%) and Muslims (61%) but significantly higher than among members of historically black Protestant churches (46%). Jehovah's Witnesses are the most likely to say homosexuality should be discouraged, with 76% expressing this view. Among the general population, only 40% say it should be discouraged, with half saying it should be accepted.

Mormons are distinctive in their views on the origins of human life. When asked about the theory of evolution, only 22% of Mormons say it is the best explanation for human life, with three-in-four (75%) disagreeing. Only among one other major religious tradition - Jehovah's Witnesses (90%) - does a higher proportion disagree that evolution is the best explanation for human life. The general public is more evenly divided on this question, with 48% saying it is the best explanation and 45% rejecting that position.

In terms of church involvement in politics, Mormons look similar to the rest of the U.S. population. Roughly half (48%) of Mormons say churches and other houses of worship should keep out of political matters, while the other half (47%) says religious bodies should express their views on day-to-day social and political questions. Americans overall tend to be similarly divided, with 46% saying houses of worship should keep out of politics and 50% saying they should express their viewpoints.

Size and Role of Government

The conservative political ideology of the majority of Mormons extends to their views on the size and role of government. More than half of Mormons (56%) prefer a smaller government with fewer services, compared with 36% who prefer a bigger government with more services. The general public is much more evenly split, with 43% favoring a smaller government and 46% supporting a bigger government.

Similarly, Mormons are less likely than the population overall to support the government doing more to help the needy. Among the general public, two-thirds (62%) say the government should do more for the needy, while only about half of Mormons (49%) say this. Four-in-ten Mormons (42%) say government cannot afford to do much more to help the needy, compared with 29% among the population as a whole.

On the question of morality, Mormons favor a larger role for government. A majority (54%) says government should do more to protect morality, with a smaller number (39%) saying they worry the government is too involved in the issue of morality. Among the general population, the proportions are opposite - a narrow majority (52%) says government is too involved, while 40% say government should do more to protect morality.

On other issues, such as the environment, Mormons are somewhat more similar to the general population. For instance, majorities of Mormons (55%) and the general public (61%) said in summer 2007 that strong environmental laws are worth the cost. Conversely, about a third of each group (30% and 36%, respectively) says environmental laws cost too many jobs and hurt the economy.

Foreign Affairs

Members of most major religious traditions tend to agree with the statement that the U.S. should pay less attention to problems overseas and concentrate on problems at home; indeed, more than half of the general public (55%) says this, compared with 36% who say it is best for the future of the U.S. to be active in world affairs. Mormons, however, stand out for taking the opposite view. Half of Mormons (51%) say it is best to be active in world affairs, and just 37% say the country should focus more on problems at home. Jews are the only other major religious tradition in which a majority leans toward involvement in international affairs (53%).

Mormons are more likely than the general public to favor military strength over diplomacy as the best way to ensure peace. But a plurality of Mormons (49%) still lean toward diplomacy. More than a third (37%) says military strength is the best way. Among the general population, 59% say good diplomacy is the best way to ensure peace, while 28% say military strength is the best way.

Political and Social Differences Among Mormons

Political and social views are linked with church attendance among Mormons, as among the general population. Those who attend services at least once a week are more than 30 percentage points more likely than Mormons who attend less frequently to be Republican (73% vs. 39%) and oppose legal abortion (78% vs. 44%). In fact, among those who attend church less often, opinion leans in the opposite direction on these two items; pluralities of those who attend church less than once a week are Democrats (40%) and favor legal abortion (49%). The same is true with regard to opinion on the size of government; among weekly attenders, 61% support a smaller government while 31% prefer a larger government, and among less-frequent attenders, just 37% prefer a smaller government while 53% prefer a bigger government.

The link between church attendance and ideology is less pronounced than with party affiliation, but it is still substantial. Two-thirds of weekly attenders (66%) say they are conservative, compared with 40% of those who attend less often. There is also a significant difference when it comes to the question of the best way to ensure peace. Nearly twice as many weekly attenders (41% vs. 24%) say a strong military is more important than good diplomacy in ensuring peace.

There also are some differences between Mormons depending on whether they are converts or lifelong members. While majorities of converts and nonconverts alike identify as Republican and say abortion should be illegal in most or all cases, converts are considerably less likely than nonconverts to do so (52% of converts are Republican vs. 69% of lifelong members, and 59% of converts oppose legal abortion vs. 74% of nonconverts). On other issues, such as size of government and best way to ensure peace, however, there are no significant differences between converts and lifelong Mormons.

There is no significant age gap among Mormons on party affiliation and the question of the best way to ensure peace. On the issue of legal abortion, however, younger Mormons are significantly more conservative than their older counterparts. Among those under age 50, 74% say abortion should be illegal in most or all cases, while among those aged 50 and older, 62% say this. Conversely, on the issue of the size of government, Mormons under age 50 are less likely than those 50 and older to favor a smaller government (50% vs. 67%). Younger Mormons are also less likely than their older counterparts to describe themselves as ideological conservatives (57% vs. 66%).

Like women compared with men overall, Mormon women are less likely than Mormon men to favor a smaller government (50% vs. 63%) or see military strength as the best way to ensure peace (32% vs. 42%). But there are no significant gender differences among Mormons on measures such as party affiliation, ideology and views on legal abortion.

Mormons who have more education tend to be more Republican. College graduates and those with some college education are 20 percentage points more likely to be Republican than those who have a high school education or less. A similar pattern exists on views on abortion, with 77% of college graduates or those with some college education opposing legal abortion, compared with 60% among those with a high school education or less. College graduates also are approximately 20 percentage points more likely to prefer a small government than those with a high school education or less. Differences in ideology also are significant, though somewhat smaller in magnitude: 63% of college graduates say they are conservative, compared with 52% of those with a high school diploma or less education.

There also are some political differences between Mormons in different geographic areas. In particular, Mormons in the western region of the U.S. are significantly more likely than Mormons from other regions to identify as Republican (68% vs. 55%). They also are more likely to say abortion should be illegal in most or all cases (72% vs. 62%; the figure among Mormons in Utah is 78%). There is no significant difference on other issues, such as the size of government and the best way to ensure peace.

Marital status also is an important predictor of political attitudes among Mormons. Those who are married are significantly more likely than unmarried Mormons to identify as conservative (66% vs. 43%) and Republican (70% vs. 52%) and to oppose legal abortion (73% vs. 63%). They also are more in favor of smaller government than unmarried Mormons (61% vs. 43%) and more apt to say that military strength is the best way to ensure peace (42% vs. 24%).

This report was written by Allison Pond, Research Associate, Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life.

A Portrait of Mormons in the U.S.( Religious Beliefs and Practices)

A Portrait of Mormons in the U.S.

Religious Beliefs and Practices

The Salt Lake Temple in Salt Lake City, Utah.

On a host of religious measures, Mormons stand out for having exceptionally high levels of religious commitment. Mormons are a believing people, with more than nine-in-ten professing belief in God or a supreme being, the Bible as the word of God, life after death and miracles. Mormons also are remarkably observant in their religious practices, with three-quarters attending church and reading Scripture outside of services at least once a week and more than eight-in-ten praying daily. Similarly, Mormons strongly support a strict interpretation of their faith and the preservation of traditional beliefs and practices. Mormons also register strong opposition to the idea that religion causes problems in society.

A Portrait of Mormons in the U.S.

I. Demography

II. Religious Beliefs and Practices

III. Social and Political Views

Pew Forum Resource Page on Mormonism

More: Research, news, other websites

Religious Beliefs
Importance of Religion
Belief in God
Beliefs About the Bible
Belief in an Afterlife and Miracles
Religious Practices
Worship Service Attendance
Prayer and Scripture Reading
Religious Education of Children
Sharing Their Faith
Patterns of Conversion
Comparing Beliefs and Practices of Major Religious
Traditions
Beliefs About Religion
Religion’s Role in Society
Religious Beliefs and Practices Among Mormon Subgroups

Religious Beliefs

Importance of Religion

More than eight-in-ten (83%) Mormons say religion is very important in their lives, compared with 56% of the general population. On this measure, Mormons are similar to members of evangelical (79%) and historically black (85%) Protestant churches and Jehovah's Witnesses (86%).

Belief in God

The Mormons surveyed in the Landscape Survey are nearly unanimous in voicing a belief in God. Fully 100% say they believe in God or a supreme being, which is higher than among any other religious group. Moreover, nine-in-ten Mormons (90%) are absolutely certain in this belief. A similar proportion (91%) sees God as a person with whom one can have a relationship. These numbers are considerably higher among Mormons than among the general population.

Beliefs About the Bible

Mormons also are united in their belief that the Bible is the word of God. More than nine-in-ten Mormons (91%) say the Bible is the word of God, with just 4% saying it was written by men and is not the word of God. This high level of belief in the Bible as the word of God, however, is tempered by the belief that it should not be taken literally, word for word. A majority of Mormons (57%) say it should not be taken literally, with a significantly smaller proportion (35%) saying it should be taken literally, word for word.

Among other Christian traditions in which high numbers of members say the Bible is the word of God, much larger proportions say it should be taken literally. For example, more than nine-in-ten Jehovah's Witnesses and more than eight-in-ten members of both evangelical Protestant and historically black Protestant churches consider the Bible to be the word of God, a figure similar to that of Mormons. But members of these three groups are more likely to say the Bible should be taken literally than to say it should not be taken literally. Among the public as a whole, two-thirds (63%) see the Bible or other religious Scripture as God's word, with about half of these (33% overall) saying it should be taken literally.

Belief in an Afterlife and Miracles

Almost all Mormons say they believe in life after death and that miracles still occur today as in ancient times (98% and 96%, respectively). Just as striking is the intensity with which they embrace these beliefs: 88% are absolutely certain of an afterlife, and 80% completely believe in miracles. Members of evangelical Protestant churches also are highly likely to believe in life after death (86%) and miracles (88%) but with somewhat less certainty; 71% believe in an afterlife with absolute certainty and 61% completely believe in miracles. Among the general population, half of all Americans (50%) are absolutely certain of an afterlife and 47% completely believe in miracles.

Religious Practices

Worship Service Attendance

Mormons are among the most active of the major religious traditions in terms of attendance at religious services. Fully three-quarters (76%) say they attend church at least once a week, compared with 39% among the general population. Only among Jehovah's Witnesses do as many say they attend services at least weekly (82%). By comparison, the figure among members of evangelical and black Protestant churches is about six-in-ten, while less than half of adherents to other major religious traditions in the U.S. attend services on a weekly basis.

Mormons exhibit a similar pattern in their participation in other congregational activities, including community volunteer work, work with children and social activities through their local congregation.

Prayer and Scripture Reading

A similar pattern is seen when it comes to frequency of prayer and Scripture reading. Three-quarters of Mormons (76%) say they read Scripture outside of religious services at least once a week, more than double the figure among the general population (35%). More than nine-in-ten Mormons pray at least once a week, with 82% praying daily. And a majority of Mormons (55%) say they receive a direct answer to a specific prayer request at least once a month.

Mormons are among the religious groups that engage in these practices most frequently, along with Jehovah's Witnesses and members of evangelical and historically black Protestant churches. In each of these religious traditions, at least six-in-ten say they read Scripture at least once a week, at least three-quarters pray daily and roughly three-in-ten or more receive answers to prayer at least once a week. By contrast, only about a quarter of Jews or the unaffiliated pray daily and even fewer read Scripture on a regular basis.

Religious Education of Children

Mormons also take a very active role in the religious education of their children. Among those with children under age 18 living at home, more than nine-in-ten pray or read Scripture with their children (91%) and a similar proportion (90%) send their children to religious education programs, figures that are significantly higher than among any other religious tradition. Among the general population, roughly two-thirds (63% and 60%, respectively) say the same. Mormons are less likely than the public overall, however, to home-school or send their children to a religious school; only 6% say they do so, compared with 15% among the general population.

Sharing Their Faith

One quarter of Mormons (24%) say they share their faith with nonbelievers or people from other religious backgrounds at least once a week. This figure is on par with the general population (23%) but much lower than among Jehovah's Witnesses (76%) and members of historically black (42%) and evangelical (34%) Protestant churches.

At the same time, however, relatively few Mormons report they seldom or never share their religious beliefs. Only a quarter (24%) says this, compared with nearly half of the general population (47%), nearly a third of members of historically black Protestant churches (32%) and 29% of members of evangelical Protestant churches. Mormons are more likely than members of these other traditions to say they share their faith sometimes, either at least once a month (24%) or at least a few times a year (27%).

Patterns of Conversion

The Landscape Survey demonstrates that the religious marketplace in the United States is characterized by a large amount of churn, with 44% of Americans saying they now belong to a different religion from that in which they were raised. This figure includes those who have switched between major religious traditions as well as those who have changed faiths within Protestantism. It also includes those who were raised in a religion but now claim no religion and those who were raised without a religion but have since joined one. (If changes within Protestantism are omitted, the figure is 28%.) Like all other religious traditions, Mormonism is simultaneously losing and gaining adherents due to religious change, but the net effect of these changes is small: Whereas 1.8% of the U.S. population says they were raised Mormon, 1.7% of the population says they are currently Mormon.

Roughly a quarter of current Mormons (26%) are converts to the faith. This is a much higher proportion than among Catholics (11%) and Jews (15%) but significantly lower than among Buddhists (73%), Jehovah's Witnesses (67%) and Protestants (45% when those who have switched from one Protestant family to another are included, e.g., Baptist to Methodist; if changes within Protestantism are omitted, the figure is 16%). Of those who have converted to Mormonism, roughly half (13% of Mormons overall) were raised Protestant, one-in-four (7% of Mormons overall) were raised Catholic and one-in-five (5% of Mormons overall) were raised without a religious affiliation.

Mormons have a relatively high retention rate of childhood members compared with other major religious traditions. Seven-in-ten of those raised Mormon (70%) still identify as Mormon, a figure roughly comparable to that seen among those raised Catholic (68% are still Catholic) but somewhat lower than among those raised Protestant (80% are still Protestant and 52% are still in the same Protestant family). Jehovah's Witnesses, by contrast, have a relatively low retention rate (only 37% are still Jehovah's Witnesses).

Of those who leave Mormonism after being raised in the faith, half (15% of those raised Mormon overall) convert to a new religion, while the other half (14% overall) become unaffiliated. This is similar among those raised Catholic; about half of those who leave the faith (18% of all those raised Catholic) switch to another religion and half (14%) switch to no religion. Among those raised Protestant, 28% switched to another Protestant family, 7% joined a non-Protestant faith and 13% became unaffiliated.

Comparing Beliefs and Practices of Major Religious Traditions

Mormon exceptionalism in religious commitment is evident when several measures of religious belief and practice are combined. Mormons, along with Jehovah's Witnesses and members of historically black and evangelical Protestant churches, stand out for very high levels of religious belief and practice.

Beliefs About Religion

When asked whether they believe that their religion is the one true faith leading to eternal life or whether many religions can lead to eternal life, a majority of Mormons (57%) say theirs is the one true faith, with a sizable minority (39%) taking the opposite view. Only among one other religious tradition - Jehovah's Witnesses (80%) - does a majority say theirs is the one true faith leading to eternal life. Among evangelical Protestants, by contrast, 36% say theirs is the one true faith leading to eternal life and 57% say many religions can lead to eternal life. A smaller percentage of the religiously affiliated public overall (24%) says theirs is the one true faith leading to eternal life.

Mormons also tend to be strict interpreters of their own religion. A majority (54%) says there is only one true way to interpret the teachings of their religion, with 43% saying there is more than one way. Among the affiliated population overall, more than two-thirds (68%) say there is more than one way.

Most Mormons say they are committed to the traditional beliefs and practices of their religion. Two-thirds (68%) prefer preserving these traditions to adjusting beliefs and practices (23%) or to adopting modern beliefs and practices (3%). Mormons are more likely to favor preserving traditional beliefs and practices than the affiliated public generally (44%); in fact, only Jehovah's Witnesses come close to rivaling Mormons on this measure (61%).

Religion's Role in Society

Most Mormons (85%) disagree with the statement that religion causes more problems in society than it solves, with a majority (54%) saying they completely disagree with this idea. Only a small minority of Mormons (14%) agree that religion causes more problems than it solves and just 3% completely agree with the statement, which is the lowest proportion of any major religious tradition. By contrast, about a third of the public overall (34%) believes that religion causes more problems than it solves.

Religious Beliefs and Practices Among Mormon Subgroups

A closer look at demographic groups within the Mormon community reveals several ways in which Mormons differ from one another in religious commitment as well as some notable instances in which they are similar to each other.

On most measures of religious commitment, Mormons under age 50 do not differ significantly from those aged 50 and older. The one exception is on the question of religious exclusivity. More than six-in-ten younger Mormons (62%) say theirs in the one true faith, compared with roughly half (48%) of Mormons 50 and older who say the same. Similarly, there are few pronounced gender gaps in Mormons' level of religious commitment, though again, religious exclusivity is the one exception: Mormon men are more likely than women (64% vs. 52%) to say theirs is the one true faith leading to eternal life.

Looking at religion's importance through the lens of education level, patterns among Mormons are the reverse of what is seen among the general population. For example, among the public, 60% of those with a high school education or less say religion is very important in their lives, compared with 50% among those with a college education. But among Mormons, the reverse is true: More college graduates (89%) than those with a high school education or less (76%) say religion is very important. It is important, however, to note that both groups among Mormons place a higher importance on religion than either group among the general public. A similar pattern emerges on belief in God, frequency of prayer and religious exclusivity. On each of these questions, Mormons with more formal education are more religiously committed, whereas in the general population the opposite is true.

Geography appears to play a role in patterns of religious commitment among Mormons as well. Those who live in Utah differ from Mormons in other areas of the country in several ways. Utahans are much less likely than Mormons from other states to share their faith with others at least once a week (13% vs. 37%), they are more likely to say theirs is the one true faith (63% vs. 51%) and they more heavily favor preserving traditional beliefs and practices (77% vs. 63%). On many other core religion measures, however, there are few geographical differences.

Converts to Mormonism also differ somewhat from lifelong Mormons in terms of religious commitment. Converts are less likely to attend church at least once a week compared with nonconverts (68% vs. 79%) and less likely to say theirs is the one true faith (46% vs. 61%), but are more likely to share their faith weekly (38% vs. 19%). On other measures of religious commitment converts tend to resemble nonconverts.

Marital status also reveals some differences in religious commitment. Married Mormons are more likely to attend church services at least once a week (82% vs. 60% among the unmarried) and to say religion is very important in their lives (87% vs. 73%). And three-quarters of married Mormons (73%) favor preserving the traditions of their faith, while fewer unmarried Mormons (57%) say this.

It is important to note that although religious differences exist between groups of Mormons on some of these items, there are not differences on all items. In particular, there seems to be little variation by demographic group when it comes to absolute belief in God, frequency of prayer and frequency of receiving answers to prayer.

A Portrait of Mormons in the U.S.(Demographics)

A Portrait of Mormons in the U.S.

Mormons at a Sunday worship service in Washington, D.C.

In Utah, July 24 is Pioneer Day, a state holiday commemorating the day in 1847 when the first Mormon settlers, led by Brigham Young, entered the Salt Lake Valley. Today, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other Mormon groups make up 58% of Utah's population and 1.7% of the total U.S. adult population, according to the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, conducted by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life in 2007. The religious tradition, founded in the United States in 1830, has come under increased public scrutiny in recent years as a result of prominent Mormons in the news, such as Mitt Romney, a 2008 Republican presidential primary candidate and former governor of Massachusetts, and Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), the majority leader in the U.S. Senate, as well as the involvement of the LDS church in political issues, such as the recent debate over gay marriage in California.

A new analysis of the Landscape Survey data reveals that as a group Mormons are among the most devout and conservative religious people in the country. The Mormon community is also internally diverse, with differences according to levels of religious commitment and educational attainment, regions of the country where Mormons live, and between lifelong Mormons and those who have converted to the faith. This report explores Mormons' unique place in the American religious landscape and is divided into three parts: demographic characteristics, religious beliefs and practices, and social and political views.

A Portrait of Mormons in the U.S.

I. Demography

II. Religious Beliefs and Practices

III. Social and Political Views

Pew Forum Resource Page on Mormonism

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I. Demography

Geographic Distribution
Age, Gender and Family Structure
Race
Education and Income
Demographic Characteristics of Converts to Mormonism

Mormons make up 1.7% of the American adult population, a proportion that is comparable in size to the U.S. Jewish population. By contrast, members of evangelical Protestant churches and Catholics each make up roughly a quarter of the adult population (26.3% and 23.9%, respectively), and 16.1% of Americans say they are unaffiliated with any particular religion. Mormons are more numerous, however, than members of other small religious groups such as Jehovah's Witnesses (0.7%), Buddhists (0.7%), Muslims (0.6%) and Hindus (0.4%).

The vast majority of those who identify with the Mormon tradition (96%) say they are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Just 1% belong to the Community of Christ, and the remainder do not specify a particular Mormon group. This report analyzes Mormons as a whole.

Geographic Distribution

The Mormon population in the U.S. is heavily concentrated in the West (76%). In fact, roughly one-third of all American Mormons (35%) live in Utah, the state founded by its early leaders. An additional 13% live in California while 7% reside in Idaho, 5% in Nevada and 4% each in Oregon and Arizona. Only about one-in-ten Mormons (12%) live in the South (including 4% who reside in Texas), 7% live in the Midwest and just 4% reside in the Northeast.

Age, Gender and Family Structure

Mormons tend to be slightly younger than the general population. Two-thirds (66%) are under age 50, compared with 59% of the public as a whole. Only two major U.S. religious traditions (Hinduism and Islam) and the religiously unaffiliated have populations younger than Mormons. At the other end of the age spectrum, by contrast, are mainline Protestants and Jews. Among each of these groups, half (51%) are 50 or older.

A majority of Mormons are women (56%). Women make up more than half of other major Christian traditions as well, including Catholics (54%) and members of the evangelical (53%) and historically black Protestant (60%) traditions. By contrast, majorities of the major non-Christian traditions in the U.S. as well as the unaffiliated tend to be male.

Nearly three-quarters of Mormons (71%) are married, compared with just more than half (54%) among the general population. Only Hindus (78%) are more likely than Mormons to be married. Mormons (83%) and Hindus (90%) also are the most likely of all the major religious traditions to be married to someone of the same faith. This compares with 63% of all married couples who are married to someone of the same faith, while 37% are in religiously mixed marriages (including Protestants married to a spouse from a different Protestant denominational family).

Mormons are widely known for having large families and, indeed, about half of all Mormons (49%) have children under age 18 living at home, with one-in-five (21%) saying they have three or more children at home. Only Muslims are similarly likely to have large families: 47% of Muslims have at least one child living at home and 15% have three or more. Among the population overall, by contrast, only about a third (35%) have children who are minors living at home and just 9% have three or more.

Race

Nearly nine-in-ten Mormons in the U.S. (86%) are white, compared with 71% of the general population. Just 3% of Mormons are African-American and 7% are Latino. Other predominantly white religious groups in the U.S. include Jews (95% white), members of mainline Protestant churches (91% white) and Orthodox Christians (87% white). Among Catholics, by contrast, only two-thirds are white (65%) and about one-third are Latino (29%). Jehovah's Witnesses and especially Muslims are among the most racially diverse religious traditions in the U.S.; less than half of each tradition is white (48% and 37%, respectively).

Immigrants to the U.S. make up a significantly smaller proportion of Mormons than they do of the population overall. Only 7% of Mormons were born outside the United States, while among the general population, 12% were born outside the U.S. The Mormon community closely resembles the mainline, evangelical and historically black Protestant traditions in this regard; other religious traditions tend to have higher proportions of immigrants in their ranks.

Education and Income

Mormons are significantly more likely than the population overall to have some college education. Six-in-ten Mormons (61%) have at least some college education, compared with half of the overall population. However, the proportion of Mormons who graduate from college (18%) or receive postgraduate education (10%) is similar to the population as a whole (16% and 11%, respectively).

Similarly, Mormons are slightly more likely to be in a middle income bracket than the general population; 38% of Mormons report earning between $50,000 and $100,000 annually, compared with 30% among the population overall in this income category. Mormons are slightly less likely than the general public to be in the lowest income bracket (26% earn $30,000 or less per year compared with 31% among the general public), but they are about as likely to make $100,000 or more annually as the rest of the population (16% and 18%, respectively). This places Mormons roughly in the middle of other religious traditions on the socioeconomic spectrum. Jews, Hindus and Buddhists tend to have more education and higher incomes than Mormons, while Jehovah's Witnesses and members of historically black Protestant churches and evangelical Protestant churches fall on the opposite end of the continuum.

Demographic Characteristics of Converts to Mormonism

The 26% of Mormons who are converts to the faith differ markedly from lifelong Mormons in several ways. First, converts tend to be older than lifelong Mormons. Nearly half of converts (48%) are over age 50, compared with about three-in-ten lifelong members (29%). Converts also tend to be less educated than nonconverts (16% did not graduate from high school, compared with just 6% of lifelong members) and they earn decidedly lower incomes (40% make less than $30,000 a year, compared with 21% among nonconverts).

Converts are more likely than lifelong members to come from minority racial and ethnic groups. One-in-ten converts to Mormonism are black, and nearly all black Mormons are converts. An additional one-in-ten Mormon converts are Hispanic, and just 72% are white; by contrast, 91% of lifelong Mormons are white. Converts are also more than three times as likely as lifelong members to be immigrants to the U.S. (14% vs. 4%).

Nonconverts are concentrated in the West (84%), but converts are more dispersed throughout the U.S. Half of converts live in the West (53%), but nearly a quarter live in the South (22%), 14% live in the Midwest and 11% reside in the Northeast.

Converts also are less likely than lifelong members to be married (64% vs. 74%), and the rates at which they have children living at home are closer to the national average than to the Mormon average; 61% of Mormon converts have no children living at home and 12% have more than three, compared with 47% and 24%, respectively, among lifelong Mormons.