A few decades back, it was common for LDS speakers to refer to the body of the Saints as “a peculiar people.” See, for example, a 1975 talk by Bruce R. McConkie titled, “The Ten Commandments of a Peculiar People.” The phrase comes from 1 Peter 2:9 KJV. It turns out the word “peculiar” meant something different in 1611 than it does today, but that’s beside the point. The point is that it has been a popular phrase emphasizing that Mormons were different, noticeably different, but in a good way. Non-LDS might agree with the different part but maybe think different in a bad or just strange way. But “nice people, just a little strange” was a description Mormons were willing to accept, even trumpet.

So here we are in the year 2026, and maybe we’re not so different anymore? That’s the claim in a recent Atlantic article, “Are Mormons Losing Their Distinctiveness?” The article quotes a lot of people whose names you will recognize and comes to the conclusion, “Yes, a lot of it.” Good Mormon families have three or four kids, not eight or nine. We don’t avoid Coca Cola anymore (Diet Coke being the caffeinated beverage of choice for Mormons) and even coffee seems okay for a good chunk of younger LDS. We still build temples and talk about them a lot (about half the content on LDS.org highlights temples) but those oh-so-dated pageants and road shows have gone away.

The article — which you really must read — highlights certain demographic changes that you have probably heard about lately. Retention rates are down: only about half of those born in the Church remain active, down from roughly 80% two generations back. And, most surprisingly, young women are now more likely to drift away than young men. This mirrors what has happened in many other denominations, but it is still jarring for older members who remember the good ole days when all the kids stayed in the Church and got married in the temple and had six kids of their own.

Now there is a 100.00 percent chance LDS leadership is aware of these shifts and changes. They might say “All is well in Zion! The Church is prospering!” in public statements, but they then march off to another meeting to discuss why we are losing so many of our youth and why they are getting married in their late twenties instead of their early twenties. Run the clock forward another couple of decades and where will we be? The time may come when older LDS parents will be proud to tell their friends that even just one of their three or four kids is still active in the Church.

So let’s talk about it. What’s your experience?

  • Are Mormons less distinctive than a generation or two ago? Do you still stand out at work or in the neighborhood as an obviously Mormon person, or can you now fly under the radar if you want to?
  • Is the rise of convert baptisms overseas, compared to stagnating growth in North America, driving some of these changes?
  • Has the drive to simplify LDS activity (two-hour church, fewer activities, the emphasis on home learning rather than church teaching) just shrunk the Mormon footprint, so even good Mormons just aren’t that Mormon anymore?
  • Using the assimilation versus retrenchment model of Armand Mauss (see image at the top of the post), is the Church presently allowing assimilation as argued in the article, pushing retrenchment, or in a confusing way sort of doing both assimilation and retrenchment at the same time?

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