Distinctive ChristianityJeff Strong on LDS Disaffiliation, Why It's Happening - and Why It Matters
In this interview, we welcome Jeff Strong to discuss his book Torn: Why People We Love Are Leaving the Church and What We Can Learn From Them. What is disaffiliation, and how does it differ from inactivity? Drawing on extensive study and experience – as well as qualitative and quantitative research, we seek to understand truly what is happening when it comes to LDS disaffiliation, and why. Do we know how many once active and faithful Latter-Day Saints have disaffiliated and transitioned away from the LDS Church? Taking us through this answer – and seeking to properly understand it against the contextual backdrop of religion in America more generally, we then seek to understand why they have left. Describing the four main reasons as “waves”, we learn about how issues of Lifestyle, Church History, Social Issues and Church Experience have ranked in how people have identified their reasons for leaving. Listen in as Jeff takes us through this and how and why there has been a shift in what people have prioritized when it comes to the “primary pathways” that have “shaped religious conversion and commitment”. Moreover, we discuss some of the cultural tensions that religious communities face today – as well as a discussion of how to evaluate what is and what should be essential shared doctrinal confession and moral behavior at the base of the community.
Book: Torn: Why People We Love Are Leaving the Church and What We Can Learn From Them
Website: tornbyjeffstrong.com
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Other resources:
“LDS Church sees a record rise in converts, but why are fewer babies being added to the rolls?” by Mark Eddington (The Salt Lake Tribune)
The Next Mormons by Jana Riess
"Closing Remarks" by President Russell M. Nelson
Shaman and Sage by Michael Horton
Spiritual Marketplace by Wade Clark Roof
The American Religious Landscape; The Nones; The Vanishing Church by Ryan Burge
Ligonier: The State of Theology Survey
Christianity and Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen
No Place for Truth; The Courage to Be Protestant by David Wells
Transcript
A full, speaker-identified transcript of this episode is in preparation — transcribed locally and checked against our theological glossary. Check back soon.