Surveying Latter-Day Saints: A Review of Methodological Issues

Doing research among Mormons is unique for a number of reasons. Primary among them is the organizational hierarchy and the top-down administration which emphasizes centralized direction over local autonomy. Centralization of authority increases local support for research endeavors and facilitates data collection procedures. In addition, the existence of a centralized membership information system means easy access to names and addresses of Latter-day Saints in the United States and Canada. Finally, the resources required to put together a large survey or a complex longitudinal study is more readily available because LDS Church leaders have been willing to allocate funds to support the research. Since the late seventies, a great deal of social scientific research has been conducted among Latter-day Saints, particularly those living in the United States (Stark 1984:26). In spite of high institutional support, researchers face significant methodological problems in studying Latter-day Saints. This paper is a review of the methodological issues researchers confronted while conducting three major research studies. The three studies were (1) a demographic survey, (2) a survey of religious attitudes and beliefs of LDS Church members, and (3) a survey examining the experience of adult women and men with the institutional church. The topics addressed by each of the surveys grew out of organizational concerns. The demographic survey was needed to provide information about such things as marriage, divorce, and fertility rates, education levels, labor force participation for both women and men, and the age structure of the LDS Church in the United States. This information provided particularly valuable information for those who publish Church magazines or develop curriculum and church programs (see Heaton and Goodman, 1985; Heaton 1986, Goodman and Heaton 1986, Heaton, 1988, Heaton 1989). The second survey focused on religious beliefs and attitudes of members and was concerned with understanding how Latter-day Saints are religious, how many have had periods of less active church participation, and the reasons for leaving church activity (see Albrecht, et. al., 1988; Albrecht and Cornwall, 1989; Cornwall, 1985; Cornwall et. al., 1986; Cornwall, 1987; Cornwall, 1988; Cornwall 1989). The third survey focused on the experience both women and men have as members of the LDS Church. Attention was given to their experience with Church leaders, feelings about programs and curriculum offered by the Church, family and personal concerns, and the personal well-being of Church members (see Thomas, 1988). Of primary concern to researchers was the need to collect data which would be representative of all Latter-day Saints, no matter their current level of religious