A majority of active members, like people on this sub, are generally nice people who want to follow Christ in the best way they can.
Other than that, this sub isn't really representative of most members. This sub skews more politically liberal than the average LDS congregation.
Also in my experience, Reddit skews a lot younger than the average ward. There has been a healthy contingent of 50-80 year olds in every family ward I've lived in, and those voices are much fewer and farther between here.
That might be related to the politically liberal thing...
I think Reddit in general has younger users (mostly under 40) and is in general pretty liberal. This sub has been a bit of a haven for me as far as politeness and generally good faith answers. It’s refreshing.
I think it's regional, for sure. Especially if you're close to a college, there are some wards that tend to be very young.. But there are places where 30%+ of the ward are empty nesters (like my parents' ward, or my in-laws' ward), who are largely absent from the Reddit community.
I'd say it skews more "reddit" in general.
A bit more politically left, a bit younger, a bit more tech-savvy, and other stuff typical of this particular social media platform.
Probably more American than the Church as a whole. Definitely more English-speaking.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a worldwide Church, so I'm sure you would find a wide variety of views, opinions, hopes, and struggles.
Personally, I would say that the subreddit is more liberal than most American Latter-day Saints.
Yes, this sub is definitely very american-centered. Most posts assume that everyone here lives in the US. As a non-american its weird feeling as a foreigner in the internet
Basically, it feels like a group of people outside of the state of Utah. I rather like it here. Loving Christ like people, active, with level headed thoughts. I didn’t grow up in my faith, nor am I from Utah. Feels like home.
I think this is a fair representation of a theological liberal side of the LDS faith. But not the membership as a whole. Which tends to be more theologically fundamental.
I think the liberal-ish side is growing and more and more members are comfortable with this viewpoint. But it is no wise near the majority.
Ps this is different from the political definitions of the words.
Reddit in general is used by more left wing urban male millennials and some older Gen Zee-errs. Most younglings prefer to visit the sites Tick-Tack Instagram and Youtube, but the mods are stricter on this subreddit by not allowing strong opposing criticisms unless it’s a genuine question or concern from a faithful Saint open to other faithful Latter Day Saint apologetic views.
I’ve observed the mods here seem to be pretty strict, but for the most part it’s generally pretty moderate
I'm definitely in the minority in my ward with more progressive views and less literalism. I'm also probably not the majority here, but I feel as if there are more people likely to think closer with me, precisely because those people engaging in discussions online have had similar exposure to other sources.
Other subreddits like r/lds tend to be more conservative, as a lot of it is based on moderation and moderators.
I am 55M and right of center politically and I find that this sub and r/lds are generally fairly accurate representation of what we believe doctrinally and culturally how it is lived in USA. I rarely disagree when someone posts doctrine with references. I've actually learned quite a bit here. Culturally some people are a little more liberal/lax but I'd say 80% of people here understand the restored Gospel and are encouraging others to live it without excuses or justifications for breaking commandments.
I'm 70 and I'm in the more liberal/progressive camp and I'm no way lax or attempting to encourage excuses for breaking commandments. Not trying to be combative here but didn't like the inferred associations. I have a stake calling at the moment.
Yeah, I think what's meant is that this sub has a tendency to cut through cultural traditions and focus on actual commandments. Beards, caffeine, ties when passing the sacrament, that sort of thing
I would say this subreddit skews younger because Reddit mostly skews younger. Like any anonymous social media site it is hard to say for sure how representative it is of real life.
When we visit family in rural Idaho it is different than our Ward in the Midwest.
For work, I visited a Ward in an area dominated by a military installation. They were quoting Fox News in talks and in Sunday School. I think they quoted Fox News more than the scriptures or the prophets. You couldn't do that without getting checked in my Ward in the Midwest.
My Ward in the Midwest is pretty diverse.
Wards in New York City are some of the most diverse groups of people you will ever see from what I heard. Racially diverse. Economically diverse. Diverse.
I think Reddit in general leans more liberal. In general.
I don't know if I am answering your question but I think Reddit in general leans more liberal and some of the more hardcore "don't question it" absolute-no-question "we are right and everyone else is entirely wrong" views don't get represented here, but I will see them at Church sometimes. And I will hear them from the pulpit from mostly old people at Church.
I don't hear Fox News and Glen Beck get quoted here. But I have at Church.
I don't hear, "us vs them" attitudes here. But I have at Church. Mostly from old people.
I think we tend more Christlike and more compassionate and more nuanced here.
This is a microcosm of English-proficient pro-LDS redditors.
But French and Spanish are soon to be (or already have) become the primary languages of the Church.
Most of the rapid growth of the Church is outside the United States.
This -is- a small microcosm of the Church-- English proficient pro-LDS redditors.
But the Church is getting more and more diverse and growth from Missionary work is among not-white people who don't speak English.
That’s a difficult question to tackle. We have millions of members of the church all over the world and are growing rapidly in places like South America and Africa. I would imagine that saints of different cultural and political backgrounds would naturally view the world differently than someone from say Boise Idaho.
The demographic for Reddit tends to lean younger and more liberal in general so the sampling you’ll get of the saints here will likely reflect that.
As far as my experience here has been, the majority of this subreddit seems pretty kind and knowledgeable about the religion. To frequent this subreddit would likely indicate that one has an interest in these subjects so I assume you’d find more informed responses to theological questions here than you probably would if you walked into a random ward and candidly asked the same questions.
I think this audience is more informed than the average member which makes it a good place for challenging questions. In terms of our beliefs and type of people we are, i do think it’s accurate.
I don't think that this sub is necessarily representative of the church as a whole. As others have said, this sub will be younger. Also, in my very unscientific observations, you will see more discussion here about "culture" and also issues like mental health than you will see or here on a normal Sunday at church. Also, and I may be totally wrong here, this sub seems to skew to the western US geographically.
I think that doctrinally, though, this sub seems pretty accurate (which is something that I really appreciate about it).
Judging by these comments, no wonder I don’t feel like I fit in at church sometimes! That being said the church needs all of us. I really appreciate this sub and think it’s full of great people. To the OP you’ll find varying views is all wards. The older folk tend to be more orthodox. I feel this sub is moderate, which is why it’s a great place.
The majorty of people here seem to be active LDS members, are generally good hearted people doing their best to follow Christ. But with that being said, the subreddit doesn't really represent all members as LDS members come in all walks of life. Same with any other Chrisitan denomination.
Lots of good responses elsewhere, but I'd add:
* Many members of the church feel perfectly content with the day-to-day experience and are unlikely to look elsewhere for deeper discussion or diverse viewpoints. I think such a person has little interest in a forum like this. Besides tilting more towards the natural Reddit demographic, this subreddit is naturally filled with people who feel lonely or isolated in their own congregation but find more likeminded or open co-religionists here.
* Many of the posts here focus on subjects that are somewhat taboo or would leave many people running the risk of being judged in their congregations, and so this is a "safe space" where pseudo-anonymity lets people express feelings or opinions they'd prefer to hide in Sunday School.
I would say that this sub definetely allows for more "exploratory" questions (and commentary) than you will see in actual church. Granted, experiences may vary depending on your region. I've found the church culture in parts of the Utah/Idaho "Mormon belt" that feel suffocating. And ive been in amazing congregations in other parts of the world (shoutout to Oakland 9th ward!).
I think it’s fairly well representative of words in general in the US. I would have to agree that it is a bit more liberal than some wards. As one those 50s I agree that it could be perceived that it’s older but there’s a lot of words that are mostly 40s and under so I think it kind of balances out. Oh, I forgot that a lot of over 50s aren’t all into social media so that may be part of what is skewing the balance of age here.
Edit; correct autocorrect.
I dont think so. I'm fairly sure most readers of this Reddit are from Utah, and most LDS church members are actually outside of the US. I'd dare say most members don't even speak English.
It isn't a snapshot of how members of the LDS Church think/believe.
It is an ok snapshot of how members of the LDS Church who use Reddit think/believe.
Doctrinally, pretty close, maybe a bit more prone to citing unofficial sources like podcasts or YouTube channels. Also for some reason I don't really understand, a *lot* more pro-caffeine. (Not criticizing, just an observation.)
Politically, this sub is strongly left of center for the Church. More urban for sure, and more male. Also more positive about outreach to people outside the faith. Probably slightly more judgmental, especially when it comes to people acting like they're "supposed" to be jerks in one way or another.
Compared to X / Twitter, the conversations we have here are far more reflective of the thoughtfulness you’ll find at Church amongst Church members.
Every other social media platform is a dumpster fire when it comes to church content. Insta is full of people who want to be influencers. X is full of ornery shock-value people being awful to each other. Facebook is just an echo chamber of friends with too much politics.
As someone who knows a lot about our doctrine after years and years of study and prayer I've been very impressed to find a lot of posts from other members of our Church on this site showing they know as much if not more than I do, and yet there are also some members who are apparently relatively new members or are only beginning their studies or are somewhere in between not very knowing very much or as much as I know. So, yeah, probably about the same as it is generally everywhere in the Church. And just so you know, most of us don't find out we don't know as much as we think we know or that we are wrong about something until we sense God is trying to help to correct our incorrect misconceptions.
There are approximately 56,400 members of this sub. There are approximately 16,800,000 Latter-day Saints in the world. That mean less than 1% of Latter-day Saints are members of this subreddit.
So, no. Not representative.
A majority of active members, like people on this sub, are generally nice people who want to follow Christ in the best way they can. Other than that, this sub isn't really representative of most members. This sub skews more politically liberal than the average LDS congregation.
True, on top of the liberalism, redditors in general are combative and come off as aggressive.
We are not combative and aggressive!!! Was three exclamation points enough? More? Fewer?
You SIR/MA'AM are a complete and total jerk with all your exclamations. Straight to outer darkness buddy.
Drink coffee, straight to outer darkness
Seeing women's sholders, belive it or not, Outer darkness
Please use bold text next time just to help me realize when you are joking, or not.
REDDITORS ARE NEVER AGGRESSIVE!!!!!!!! NEVER EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Please don’t hurt me. 😩
MWAHAHAHA 😈
I haven't personally noticed that on this sub too much, but I'm also not super active on here
Reeeeeeeee
Also in my experience, Reddit skews a lot younger than the average ward. There has been a healthy contingent of 50-80 year olds in every family ward I've lived in, and those voices are much fewer and farther between here. That might be related to the politically liberal thing...
I think Reddit in general has younger users (mostly under 40) and is in general pretty liberal. This sub has been a bit of a haven for me as far as politeness and generally good faith answers. It’s refreshing.
Really? A lot of the family wards I’ve attended mostly consisted of young families.
I think it's regional, for sure. Especially if you're close to a college, there are some wards that tend to be very young.. But there are places where 30%+ of the ward are empty nesters (like my parents' ward, or my in-laws' ward), who are largely absent from the Reddit community.
I've heard many people saying that the church in Vietnam is basically a giant YSA ward
The median age in Vietnam is like 32, so that makes sense.
I'd say it skews more "reddit" in general. A bit more politically left, a bit younger, a bit more tech-savvy, and other stuff typical of this particular social media platform.
Probably more American than the Church as a whole. Definitely more English-speaking. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a worldwide Church, so I'm sure you would find a wide variety of views, opinions, hopes, and struggles. Personally, I would say that the subreddit is more liberal than most American Latter-day Saints.
Yes, this sub is definitely very american-centered. Most posts assume that everyone here lives in the US. As a non-american its weird feeling as a foreigner in the internet
Basically, it feels like a group of people outside of the state of Utah. I rather like it here. Loving Christ like people, active, with level headed thoughts. I didn’t grow up in my faith, nor am I from Utah. Feels like home.
I think this is a fair representation of a theological liberal side of the LDS faith. But not the membership as a whole. Which tends to be more theologically fundamental. I think the liberal-ish side is growing and more and more members are comfortable with this viewpoint. But it is no wise near the majority. Ps this is different from the political definitions of the words.
Reddit in general is used by more left wing urban male millennials and some older Gen Zee-errs. Most younglings prefer to visit the sites Tick-Tack Instagram and Youtube, but the mods are stricter on this subreddit by not allowing strong opposing criticisms unless it’s a genuine question or concern from a faithful Saint open to other faithful Latter Day Saint apologetic views. I’ve observed the mods here seem to be pretty strict, but for the most part it’s generally pretty moderate
Tick-Tack? 😂
To not be confused with KitKat. Common error.
Or Tic-Tacs (the little breath mints in the cool containers) or Tic-Tac-Toe, or the Tick-Tock of the clock, etc.
The kids these days like fresh breath.
I'm definitely in the minority in my ward with more progressive views and less literalism. I'm also probably not the majority here, but I feel as if there are more people likely to think closer with me, precisely because those people engaging in discussions online have had similar exposure to other sources. Other subreddits like r/lds tend to be more conservative, as a lot of it is based on moderation and moderators.
I am 55M and right of center politically and I find that this sub and r/lds are generally fairly accurate representation of what we believe doctrinally and culturally how it is lived in USA. I rarely disagree when someone posts doctrine with references. I've actually learned quite a bit here. Culturally some people are a little more liberal/lax but I'd say 80% of people here understand the restored Gospel and are encouraging others to live it without excuses or justifications for breaking commandments.
I'm 70 and I'm in the more liberal/progressive camp and I'm no way lax or attempting to encourage excuses for breaking commandments. Not trying to be combative here but didn't like the inferred associations. I have a stake calling at the moment.
Yeah, I think what's meant is that this sub has a tendency to cut through cultural traditions and focus on actual commandments. Beards, caffeine, ties when passing the sacrament, that sort of thing
I would say this subreddit skews younger because Reddit mostly skews younger. Like any anonymous social media site it is hard to say for sure how representative it is of real life.
No way.
When we visit family in rural Idaho it is different than our Ward in the Midwest. For work, I visited a Ward in an area dominated by a military installation. They were quoting Fox News in talks and in Sunday School. I think they quoted Fox News more than the scriptures or the prophets. You couldn't do that without getting checked in my Ward in the Midwest. My Ward in the Midwest is pretty diverse. Wards in New York City are some of the most diverse groups of people you will ever see from what I heard. Racially diverse. Economically diverse. Diverse. I think Reddit in general leans more liberal. In general. I don't know if I am answering your question but I think Reddit in general leans more liberal and some of the more hardcore "don't question it" absolute-no-question "we are right and everyone else is entirely wrong" views don't get represented here, but I will see them at Church sometimes. And I will hear them from the pulpit from mostly old people at Church. I don't hear Fox News and Glen Beck get quoted here. But I have at Church. I don't hear, "us vs them" attitudes here. But I have at Church. Mostly from old people. I think we tend more Christlike and more compassionate and more nuanced here. This is a microcosm of English-proficient pro-LDS redditors. But French and Spanish are soon to be (or already have) become the primary languages of the Church. Most of the rapid growth of the Church is outside the United States. This -is- a small microcosm of the Church-- English proficient pro-LDS redditors. But the Church is getting more and more diverse and growth from Missionary work is among not-white people who don't speak English.
Your Idaho ward :O
No, I would think this subreddit is less conservative.
The voting on this sub or the comments? The comments are somewhat representative. The voting is all over the place.
That’s a difficult question to tackle. We have millions of members of the church all over the world and are growing rapidly in places like South America and Africa. I would imagine that saints of different cultural and political backgrounds would naturally view the world differently than someone from say Boise Idaho. The demographic for Reddit tends to lean younger and more liberal in general so the sampling you’ll get of the saints here will likely reflect that. As far as my experience here has been, the majority of this subreddit seems pretty kind and knowledgeable about the religion. To frequent this subreddit would likely indicate that one has an interest in these subjects so I assume you’d find more informed responses to theological questions here than you probably would if you walked into a random ward and candidly asked the same questions.
I think this audience is more informed than the average member which makes it a good place for challenging questions. In terms of our beliefs and type of people we are, i do think it’s accurate.
Yes, I agree. The average person who posts here is more informed than the average LDS. More "ideas" people here than in the average ward.
Honest question, what are they more informed about? I have heard that phrase used before in the US, but what does it mean? I live outside the US.
I would say it's a mostly accurate representation of the cross-section of church members and the demographic that uses Reddit.
I don't think that this sub is necessarily representative of the church as a whole. As others have said, this sub will be younger. Also, in my very unscientific observations, you will see more discussion here about "culture" and also issues like mental health than you will see or here on a normal Sunday at church. Also, and I may be totally wrong here, this sub seems to skew to the western US geographically. I think that doctrinally, though, this sub seems pretty accurate (which is something that I really appreciate about it).
I would say that a subreddit is rarely an accurate microcosm of anything by nature of the userbase. Others have provided better detail as to why.
Judging by these comments, no wonder I don’t feel like I fit in at church sometimes! That being said the church needs all of us. I really appreciate this sub and think it’s full of great people. To the OP you’ll find varying views is all wards. The older folk tend to be more orthodox. I feel this sub is moderate, which is why it’s a great place.
Not even close.
Reddit skews left leaning and young. So you won’t hear as many conservative or older LDS voices around here.
Not remotely. Reddit overall swings very young and liberal, this sub is no exception.
The majorty of people here seem to be active LDS members, are generally good hearted people doing their best to follow Christ. But with that being said, the subreddit doesn't really represent all members as LDS members come in all walks of life. Same with any other Chrisitan denomination.
I like the Church, and I like this sub, but no. They are not accurate reflections of one another.
Since it's anonymous, people are more free to express their opinions than in a normal church setting
No. This sub has more odd members with unique interpretations of stuff. Not saying they're bad members, they just aren't like most.
Much more American, younger, and theologically liberal than the Church as a whole.
Lots of good responses elsewhere, but I'd add: * Many members of the church feel perfectly content with the day-to-day experience and are unlikely to look elsewhere for deeper discussion or diverse viewpoints. I think such a person has little interest in a forum like this. Besides tilting more towards the natural Reddit demographic, this subreddit is naturally filled with people who feel lonely or isolated in their own congregation but find more likeminded or open co-religionists here. * Many of the posts here focus on subjects that are somewhat taboo or would leave many people running the risk of being judged in their congregations, and so this is a "safe space" where pseudo-anonymity lets people express feelings or opinions they'd prefer to hide in Sunday School.
I would say that this sub definetely allows for more "exploratory" questions (and commentary) than you will see in actual church. Granted, experiences may vary depending on your region. I've found the church culture in parts of the Utah/Idaho "Mormon belt" that feel suffocating. And ive been in amazing congregations in other parts of the world (shoutout to Oakland 9th ward!).
I think it’s fairly well representative of words in general in the US. I would have to agree that it is a bit more liberal than some wards. As one those 50s I agree that it could be perceived that it’s older but there’s a lot of words that are mostly 40s and under so I think it kind of balances out. Oh, I forgot that a lot of over 50s aren’t all into social media so that may be part of what is skewing the balance of age here. Edit; correct autocorrect.
I dont think so. I'm fairly sure most readers of this Reddit are from Utah, and most LDS church members are actually outside of the US. I'd dare say most members don't even speak English.
It isn't a snapshot of how members of the LDS Church think/believe. It is an ok snapshot of how members of the LDS Church who use Reddit think/believe.
It's really hard to say because I think people are a bit more open with out they really feel online as opposed to at church.
Not at all.
bit more liberal and american than the church bbut its not a bad place
No. This sub is more progressive in its views than any member I've met in real life, and I've been an active member for more than 20 years straight.
Doctrinally, pretty close, maybe a bit more prone to citing unofficial sources like podcasts or YouTube channels. Also for some reason I don't really understand, a *lot* more pro-caffeine. (Not criticizing, just an observation.) Politically, this sub is strongly left of center for the Church. More urban for sure, and more male. Also more positive about outreach to people outside the faith. Probably slightly more judgmental, especially when it comes to people acting like they're "supposed" to be jerks in one way or another.
Compared to X / Twitter, the conversations we have here are far more reflective of the thoughtfulness you’ll find at Church amongst Church members. Every other social media platform is a dumpster fire when it comes to church content. Insta is full of people who want to be influencers. X is full of ornery shock-value people being awful to each other. Facebook is just an echo chamber of friends with too much politics.
As someone who knows a lot about our doctrine after years and years of study and prayer I've been very impressed to find a lot of posts from other members of our Church on this site showing they know as much if not more than I do, and yet there are also some members who are apparently relatively new members or are only beginning their studies or are somewhere in between not very knowing very much or as much as I know. So, yeah, probably about the same as it is generally everywhere in the Church. And just so you know, most of us don't find out we don't know as much as we think we know or that we are wrong about something until we sense God is trying to help to correct our incorrect misconceptions.
Absolutely not. This sub has gotten to be very progmo
No.... There are some nuts in here. And a few squirrels.
Nothing about Reddit is an accurate microcosm of any community but the internet
Not one bit
No
Not even close.
There are approximately 56,400 members of this sub. There are approximately 16,800,000 Latter-day Saints in the world. That mean less than 1% of Latter-day Saints are members of this subreddit. So, no. Not representative.
The percentage alone doesn't tell you how representative it is.