Posted by:
Nightingale
(
)
Date: November 06, 2022 03:16PM
https://www.deseret.com/2022/11/5/23433846/survey-latter-day-saints-are-everywhere-in-media-but-americans-still-know-little-about-themExcerpts:
The media spotlight shining on Latter-day Saints on television and social media may seem like a sequel to the “Mormon Moment,” but a new national survey shows that most Americans still know very little about them and their beliefs.
“The amount of ignorance people had about the church was shocking,” said Josh Coates, the executive director of the B.H. Roberts Foundation, which published the study and is best known for its Mormonr brand. “I mean, two-thirds of the people that responded either thought we practice polygamy, or they weren’t sure if we practice polygamy.”
“The biggest takeaway for me is that the more you know about Latter-day Saints, the more you like them. The less you know about Latter-day Saints, the more you dislike them,” Coates said.
“Most people don’t actually like or dislike us, they don’t really even think about us much,” he said. “They don’t know much about us and they’re neutral on Latter-day Saints, both the church and the people.”
“There’s a whole wide world out there and people don’t know us,” he said.
“Especially nowadays, there’s so much media about Latter-day Saints over the last year or two, and most of it has not been flattering, and that is one of the top ways people learn about us. That’s kind of a bummer, I think. But that’s not going to change. We’re a really interesting topic, apparently.”
“The more religious you are, the more friendly you are toward Latter-day Saints,” Coates said.
“The fastest-growing belief system is the non-belief system. In fact, several surveys indicate that roughly 1 in 3 Americans are no longer affiliated with a religion.”
The most Latter-day Saint friendly religious group was Muslims, according to the survey, possibly because their beliefs match those of Latter-day Saints in numerous ways, from abstinence from alcohol to the importance of families to the wearing of sacred clothing, Coates said."
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It's interesting that Coates mentioned "sacred clothing" because even though g's are sacred not secret, they're not often referred to publicly. You'd think an interviewer may have a follow up question to that comment. So is he comparing hijabs, burqas or long robes to garmies? I've never heard that before.
I also wonder about the comment that the more religious a person is the more friendly they are towards Mormons. It can get pretty tribal out there.
Perhaps an exmo's favourite line in the article would be "There's a whole wide world out there and people don't know us."
Fifty-thousand mishies out and about, in addition to the hordes that have gone before, and still "people don't know us". That's gotta be discouraging for the Men in Suits back in S.L.C.
Too, that polygamy thing just won't die. No wonder, as the offensive practice, introduced by the founders of Mormonism, continues to reverberate down through the generations. Too, there are those like Jeffs et al who keep the practice alive. We used to do it but we don't any more is kind of a weak response to questions about polygamy. It's not something easy to just get over, for those adversely affected by it and everyone who finds the teaching distasteful in the extreme.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/06/2022 03:22PM by Nightingale.