The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints emphasizes the importance of family life.
About a quarter of Americans today identify themselves as religiously unaffiliated, a massive 400 percent increase from the numbers in the 1990s. Substantial numbers of people have abandoned their Christian denominations. The most affected are white Christian groups. Evangelical Protestants, who accounted for 25 percent of the Christian U.S. population ten years ago, have dwindled to 15 percent. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only exception to this bloodletting.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints membership numbers continue to be more-or-less the same[/tweetit], consisting of about two percent of the American population. In contrast, the conservative Protestant group Southern Baptist Convention has bled approximately 1.2 million members since 2007.
LDS Membership Numbers Remain Strong as other Faiths Decline Drastically[/tweetthis]
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has achieved notable success in holding its flock together. Vox speculates this has to do with the institution’s focus on family life, which bonds its members together. Only a handful of religious communities have made the development of conventional family structures and their subsequent maintenance a central priority. It shows 81 percent claim one of their life goals is being a good parent. Three quarters prefer marriage to be a priority in their lives, and say the best marriage is one where the husband provides and the wife stays at home.
The Church has even solidified its family-oriented rules by emphasizing the joys of a family home evening. In 1915, it was brought to the fore this officially sanctioned event to be held weekly with the aim of strengthening the family ties. Parents engage children in many spiritual and religious activities like reading from the scripture, singing hymns, and prayer. Sociologists have described the family home evening as one of the more successful programs which have fostered intergenerational connections. It is thus no fluke that the families are two-parent households. A Pew Research report compiled in 2015 revealed that a more significant number of The Church’s members compared to other religious groups are married and enjoy more prominent families. About 75 percent are married, compared to the overall Christian figure of 52 percent.
Adherents of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are more probable to marry those belonging to their faith compared to other religious traditions. The Church’s families are also larger, with 3.4 children on an average compared to 2.2 for the average Christian household.