Reciprocation and Adaptation: Latter-Day Saint Historical Demographic Dynamics

Jason P. Bonham, University of Chicago
Clayton Powell, University of Chicago

Current analyses of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ post-industrial history advance a partial-assimilation model. This hypothesis maintains that Utah’s original Latter-day Saints resided as social outsiders who, through a series of internal conflicts, relinquished less popular practices in favor of a more Protestant-styled 20th-century survival strategy. Alternatively, a reinterpretation of these events under social interactionist theory would suggest that the Church’s endurance through periods of external conflict point towards a mutually beneficial relationship between the Church and its host society. Consequently, I advance that Church’s relation to America is that of a partnership, including mutual interests in the successful implementation and dissolution of polygamy. I utilize the Utah Population Database (UPDB) to analyze Latter-day Saint demographic patterns across 19th- and 20th-century Utah against changing religious, political, and economic environments. The UPDB links over 200 years of religious genealogies (including Latter-day Saint baptism and endowment participation dates) in Utah to census, health, and vital records. I will conclude by discussing the broader theoretical implications and their applications to religious, health, and organizational research.

No extended abstract or paper available

 Presented in Session 133. Union Formation and Dissolution in Historical Perspective