Intriguing study shows that more Mormon men are leaving the "fold" than their female counterparts.

And they're not coming back. What's more alarming to church head counters is that more Mormon men are leaving in Utah than other parts of the nation. That's got to concern lay leaders and church leaders alike.

(Progress, not perfection.)

"Conservative denominations in the United States tend to have more women than men, so the sex ratio imbalance in Mormonism is not particularly surprising, even if it is rather severe. What is surprising is the regional concentration of this imbalance.

We began to investigate sex ratios in the church when we compared data from two large censuses of religious bodies, one conducted in 1990 and the other in 2008. The data show that between these two censuses, the proportion of self-identified Latter-day Saints that were female increased rather dramatically … but only in Utah. Outside Utah and Mormon strongholds in the Intermountain West, sex ratios within the church remained stable, and were closer to parity than in Utah.

The “shortage of Mormon men” we’ve heard so much about lately is far worse in Utah than it is in the rest of the nation.

There has been a general secularizing trend in the United States for the past 25 years. People are abandoning organized religion in large numbers, and those with no denominational affiliation now constitute about 20% of the population. Mormonism is not immune from this trend, and defections from Mormonism are more common than they have been in the past. In the 1970s and 80s, surveys showed that the church retained about 90 percent of its cradle members. But in the latest Pew Religious Landscape Survey, 36% of respondents raised LDS have abandoned their faith. Just as women outnumber men in conservative denominations, men substantially outnumber women among those abandoning religion. This is true for Mormons as well.

Also, this trend in religious disaffiliation is most pronounced among young people in their late teens and early 20s, which is a datum that is important to remember.

So, one explanation for what’s going on is that we are seeing how a general pattern in American religious demography is manifesting itself in a Mormon context."

http://religionnews.com/2015/09/16/more-mormon-men-are-leaving-the-lds-church-say-researchers-but-especially-in-utah/



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/14/2017 02:27PM by Amyjo.

Now will they stop programming the young women to hold out for an RM?

I doubt it Babylon.

The church will bring back polygamy before it does that!

Hard to say...

The study only came out two years ago, based on a comparison between data points in 1990 and then 2008.

I'd pray about it, were I you.

Even more telling is this study came out prior to the pronouncement of the mandate against gays and their children.

Since then there have been more leaving because of that than before this study was done.

plural marriage will solve it!

And having more children.

Especially male babies.

;-)

cf http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,2029775

(Thread: Why does every BYU girls dorm room have a copy of "The Princess Bride?")

"In the 70s and 80s the church retained 90% of its cradle members"

Was this before being forced to accept resignations?

I believe it was.

Thanks for noting that.

Up until about five years ago I attended Mormon singles dances and activities. If you mean a "shortage of men" after the age of 70, yes. If you mean "shortage of men" to women who are still capable of having children ____________NO_______! There were always way, WAY, ______WAY_____ more men and women; unless you count the women over 65.

The Bishop of a Ward near Los Angeles I once attended, once told a group of us in an Institute class (he was also the Institute Director) "I have 151 widows in my Ward". Now, his ward maybe, on a good Sunday, had 200 or so attending. One person in the class said: "NoooooooO!" The Bishop stuck out his hand and said: "Wanna bet? How much?" I asked him later if he was exaggerating, and he stuck out his hand "Wanna bet?" I said: "No. I don't bet. I just want to know." He ASSURED me he had 151 widows. I would say no more than 20 came out to Sacrament every Sunday.

I know that about 40% to 60% of Mormon women marry "Gentile" men. In Utah maybe it is closer to 33%, but, I can assure you, in parts of California it is more like 60%. About 5% of Mormon men marry non-mormon women.

I was active in Young Adutls and Single Adutls for decades. Not years. I attended total, perhaps, 5 Young Adult Wards, and about an equal number of Single Adult Wards, during my time in the Church. There were always SIGNIFICANTLY more males than females. Also, I went to the Young Adult dances and Singles dances. YA dances, always more men. Single's Dances: if you "count" the women over 65, then more women, but if you "count" the women under that age, more men. As far as the single adult dances go, if you "count" the women that a normal man would "date" and want to marry, you could do so on one hand and still have some fingers left. Always, always, ALWAYS, many more men than women, unless you count the over 65 women.

That wasn't my experience as a single young adult in TSCC.

The singles wards I went to had a disproportionate number of women to men (that was in the Morridor.)

In college the singles ward I attended was a fair mix of both. There I didn't really notice it was weighted more in favor of either or.

When my parents divorced (I was a teenager,) my dad tried attending the singles ward where we lived. He was swarmed by single women - each of them swooning over dad. It made him feel so uncomfortable going there he stopped going altogether.

There was a millionairess in my hometown who took a shine to my dad. They were serious for a little while until she tried to buy his love and affection. She had so much wealth that dad felt she would treat him as a possession if he were to become more serious. Nor could he return in kind the lavish presents she showered him with, so he broke it off with her. She liked me a lot too, lol.

She died not long after dad and her broke up. Not from a broken heart, but from cancer.

Amyjo, that's sad. I wonder if she knew about the cancer and that she didn't have much time left. If you know your time is up, money doesn't mean as much because you know you'll never get to spend it all . She sounds like she wanted to enjoy what time she had left. Your dad must of seemed special to her, maybe she wanted to spend what remaining time she had with him.
Maybe if she told your dad, he probably would of tried to spend more time with her or someone else would of.
Scary how short time can be. I wish long health to you and others on this board and to their significant other

It was sad, Hockeyrat.

She was the same age I am now when she passed.

My dad came from the old school of macho pride.

It also made me realize my dad wasn't a 'gold digger.' He could have married that woman easily, but called it off.

I saw my dad in a new light after that.. He was still a bit of a womanizer between marriages. When he finally settled down again with my stepmom, she had financial security but not like Edith did. But he loved her and she loved him. They were a great team for the duration of their marriage - which was the rest of their lives. My stepmom predeceased dad by a few years. She went from cancer also.

Dad thought she'd outlive him because he was older than her. We just never know do we?

Not being a RM sure let to a shortage of Mormon women in my life. Two dates and..."I'm glad we can be friends." I found out later there was the unspoken, "I always dreamed of marrying a RM in the temple."

My RM brother went through five engagements between BYU-Idaho and BYU-Provo before he finally met "the one."

Either he'd break it off or the girl would. Until he met my SIL. They had a two week courtship and then got engaged. She quit her job the day they got married, and never held another job outside of the house again.

She wasn't joking when she said she went to BYU to get her "MRS" degree. That's exactly what she did. She referred to herself as a "Mormon American Princess." And so it has been ever since.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/15/2017 07:15PM by Amyjo.

Wow, that’s a little .... extreme ..... even for RM men! I’ve known a couple of RM men who said they fell in love and led women to think they were going to propose, but never went through with the actual engagement.

Your SiL sounds charming! I’ll bet you’ve had the urge to tell her where to put her tiara. Hugs!

I am with you boner, if i get better i am only dating non-mormon women. It will be reversed.

How ironic! Ignoring the contrary statements above, if the study is correct, it means that the gender damaged the most by Mormonism (females) is more likely to want it to be true and to believe in it. I suppose it's like the hostage identifying with his/her kidnapper after a time.

Maybe Mormon men in Utah get turned off by the Mormon princess mentality that permeates the culture there.

Just a thought.

I believe that there are markets in everything - including love/marriage/sex.

If there are more active Mormon (presumably) unmarried women, then market forces would suggest pressure to increase activism in unmarried men. Is this pressure being manifested in a visible way? More male converts? More women marrying inactives? Polyamorous arrangements?

It may be that more members are falling away, and its the women who are the more reluctant to leave church membership.

Sometimes out of family loyalty. Some are cultural Mormons and can't see themselves anything else.

Women are either going to have to "settle" for what's left inside the church or go outside to find more suitable companions.

Well, I'm a man, but neither LDS/Mormon nor do I reside in Utah;

otherwise, eligible women, 'Come & Get Me!'

If only you get over being so shy!!

"How ironic! Ignoring the contrary statements above, if the study is correct, it means that the gender damaged the most by Mormonism (females) is more likely to want it to be true and to believe in it. I suppose it's like the hostage identifying with his/her kidnapper after a time."

Why wouldn't the same apply to male hostages? Why do we think women are so weak and stupid? Why are they the only ones who are brainwashed?

I don't understand why it is so hard to admit that the church offers many benefits to women. For example, monopoly control over the sexuality of men - war on porn, etc. Also pressure on men to be sole breadwinner so she can stay home with kids. I know feminists insist that women hate having kids, but that denies millions of years of evolution.

My wife converted before we married and she wanted the emphasis on families, and she loved being a homemaker and SAHM. After the kids were grown, I had a hard time getting her to go out and make money, like we're told women want to do.

Anyway, just fascinating watching people struggle to understand why men would leave, and women would want to stay in church. Not that complicated. If they wanted to keep men, they would eliminate modesty rules, perhaps have them go to strip clubs, and go to ball games, or fishing, or whatever. Instead they meet and beat each other up over porn, or push busy work like home teaching or temple attendance.