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In turns out that their fastest growth rates are in middle income countries \u2013 not at the bottom of the scale, where grinding poverty is most apparent, nor in wealthy countries. <\/p>\n

The graphic shows this for the Mormons. The \u2018Human Development Index\u2019 is a standard measure, developed by the UN, which combines life expectancy, adult literacy, and per capita GDP. Mormons grow fastest in countries mid-way along the index.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to say why this might be, but it may be linked to the social upheaval that goes hand in hand with modernization. Perhaps people turn to these new, highly active religions to help deal with the stresses and uncertainty that this upheaval can cause.<\/p>\n

The other important finding is that growth appears to be self limiting. After an initial burst (the \u2018growth momentum\u2019), then growth slows in proportion to the number of people already converted. It\u2019s as if there is a certain pool of people who are attracted to these groups and, once they\u2019re in, recruitment falls away.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s intriguing, however, is that there doesn\u2019t seem to be competition between groups. In other words, the growth rate of Mormons is slower if there are already a lot of Mormons in the country, but it\u2019s unaffected by the numbers of Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses. <\/p>\n

That suggests that these groups appeal to different kinds of people \u2013 although an alternative explanation is simply that the hotspots of each group is separated geographically within a country.<\/p>\n

Mormons and Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses have both seen a significant slowdown in growth in recent years, although for Seventh Day Adventists the slowdown is less significant. This is probably because most current Mormons and JWs today live in relatively wealthy countries, where prospects for conversions are poor. In Europe, the number of JWs is actually falling!<\/p>\n

$\"ResearchBlogging.org\"$ <\/a><\/span>
Cragun, R., & Lawson, R. (2010). The Secular Transition: The Worldwide Growth of Mormons, Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses, and Seventh-day Adventists Sociology of Religion<\/span> DOI: 10.1093\/socrel\/srq022<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

$\"Creative$ <\/a><\/span> This article by Tom Rees<\/b> was first published on Epiphenom<\/a>. It is licensed under Creative Commons<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"