Why these Utahns stick with church — even as more people than ever leave religion

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The face of religion in America is changing, but for some worshippers, that’s all the more reason to hang on to their faith.

Survey data released in December 2021 from the Pew Research Center shows that about 3 in 10 U.S. adults (29%) are religious “nones” — people who describe themselves as atheists, agnostics or “nothing in particular.” That’s up from 16% in 2007, when the center began asking about religious identity.

Additionally, a Gallup Poll published last year found that 47% of Americans said they belonged to a church, synagogue or mosque in 2020, down from 50% in 2018, 70% in 1999, and the first time in the analytics company’s 87-year history the number has fallen bellow 50%.

While many studies, stories and surveys highlight these landmark departures from denominations, implicit and often unspoken in these numbers is the fact that many Americans are persisting in their piety. In light of this, The Salt Lake Tribune asked its readers not why they may have left a religion but instead why they stayed.

More than 260 people responded to our question: “Why do you choose to participate in organized religion?” The answers, unsurprisingly, were as varied as those who offered them.

Some common threads, however, emerged, including reasons such as community, purpose, devotion to God and family.

Patrick Mason, head of Mormon history and culture at Utah State University, also cited these motivations when asked why people keep to their faiths.

Religion can be very wrapped up in family and heritage, he said, which is a draw for some and a deterrent for others.

Mason said that nonreligious people sometimes think that churchgoing people aren’t well informed and if they understood various issues more, they would also leave.

Another reason religious people stay involved, he said, is simply so they aren’t ostracized by family, friends and neighbors.

Though these conditions certainly can be true in some cases, Mason said, “they oftentimes are oversimplifications of the reasons why people stay.”

Religion News Service columnist Jana Riess, president of the Mormon Social Science Association, added that faithful people sometimes resent the derogatory names thrown at them (”sheeple,” for example) that undermine their own choices.

It’s far more helpful, she said, to ask religious people why their churches are important to them and honestly listen to their answers.

Here’s what some churchgoing Tribune readers had to say about why they are sticking with religion:

Latter-day Saints

As expected, 145 (55%) of the 261 respondents identified themselves as members of the state’s dominant denomination, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Sandy resident Catherine Ostler Bearden said she’s been a Latter-day Saint since she was 8 years old, the faith’s traditional age of baptism.

She participates because of her “rock-solid testimony of Jesus Christ,” her desire to serve and lift others, and to share her love of the scriptures with her fellow worshippers.

Bearden said she also attends in hopes of seeing her church improve over time. She believes all people, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race or other characteristics should be included in the faith’s sacred ordinances. (The church has long maintained its stance that marriage is between a man and a woman, and does not allow same-sex couples to marry in its temples.)

“We’re not perfect [as a church] — we’re often racist, misogynist, narrow-minded and small,” Bearden said. “Christ was none of those things! And I fervently hope we will overcome our limitations and grow.”

Lifelong member Ashley A. Burr, who lives in Draper, added that there’s “no such thing” as a perfect institution.

It’s unfair to judge people or organizations by current standards of good and right, she continued, and it’s the duty of a community’s members to think critically, understand nuance, and be part of solutions.

Burr said she and her children need the church’s “positive pressure” and the opportunities it gives them to lead, serve and teach.

“Find me ANY institution, church or otherwise, that does not have a complicated legacy with controversial leaders, policies and events,” Burr wrote. “Cognitive dissonance is a part of life, and rejecting people and organizations because of it is untenable.”

For other Latter-day Saints, faith is a relatively straightforward matter. Utah County resident Heather Williams-Young said many outsiders focus on aspects of the church they find strange or distasteful, but fail to see its simple beauty and potential.

She believes in community, she said, and finds order and meaning in her day-to-day life through ritual and tradition.

“There is a lot of beauty in gathering with other imperfect people and striving to build a community of love and service,” Williams-Young said. “It is not a perfect faith community, but I won’t abandon it.”

Riess, author of “The Next Mormons: How Millennials Are Changing the LDS Church,” said the reasons Latter-day Saints stay faithful don’t differ much from those cited by people of other religions.

She also said Latter-day Saints’ sense of community is particularly strong — for better and for worse.

“For people who are able to find their place within the confines of a particular religious tradition, in this case Mormonism ... it can be such a nourishing and empowering identity for them,” Riess said. “[But] sometimes the very reasons that that some people stay and find comfort in the tradition are the same things that tend to push other people out.”

Roman Catholics

Though Latter-day Saints made up over half the responses to our unscientific survey, plenty of other faiths were represented.

Matt Pauly, a Catholic in Salt Lake City, said he participates in organized religion because of a fundamental belief in God and a need to fellowship with others.

Mass is particularly meaningful to him, he said, because it allows people of diverse backgrounds to join together in communion with their creator.

Pauly said there’s a misconception that religious people are ignorant, bigoted or controlled.

“I feel my religion is freeing,” said Pauly, who holds two master’s degrees and identifies himself as politically progressive. “I am also personally aware of the Catholic Church’s faults, but choose to stay not for human approval but for love of God.”

Sandy resident Shelly Edmonds, another member of Utah’s second-largest denomination, echoed Pauly’s feelings about the significance of the Catholic Mass, calling it “poetry and ritual and community.”

Worshipping in a congregation, she said, makes her part of something bigger than herself, and challenges her to be more loving, forgiving and humble, and to be less selfish, willful and greedy. It also reminds her that no matter how many mistakes she makes, she’s eternally loved.

“Of course, I have been deeply shaken and angered by the scandals of the Catholic Church,” Edmonds wrote. “However, I try to remember that the sins of others and political wranglings do not take away the truth of the core beliefs.”

Unitarian Universalists

Other survey responses came from people representing a variety of beliefs, including Unitarian Universalists, a liberal Christian tradition that embraces teachings from Eastern and Western philosophies.

Midvale resident Jan Crane said she was a Latter-day Saint for 60 years until she no longer could reconcile problems she had with the church and left.

She then discovered a Unitarian Universalist congregation in Salt Lake City. Its emphasis on a free search for truth and meaning, social justice work, compassion and kindness made sense to her.

“The Unitarian Universalist faith is nondogmatic and encourages free thought and expression,” Crane said. “Being an atheist, I don’t need commandments and a list of ‘do’s’ and ‘don’ts’ to be a moral person.”

Amy Brunvand, who lives in Salt Lake City, said she’s been a Unitarian Universalist her entire life.

The faith, she said, gives her space to explore moral and ethical issues with a congregation that supports a free and responsible search for truth.

“I love the sense of community. I love celebrating the cycles of the year with spiritual practice instead of just materialistic holidays,” Brunvand said. “I also like to be around a group of people who believe spiritual seeking is an important part of life.”

She said there’s a misconception that religious people are conservative, noting there are plenty of religious liberals, too. Many Unitarians, she added, come from stricter religious traditions in which they had bad experiences.

“Church doesn’t have to be an oppressive guilt trip,” Brunvand said, “and there is a lot of value in identifying one’s ideals and actually trying to live up to them.”

Episcopalians

Several Episcopalians also responded to the survey, detailing the traditions and beliefs that enrich their lives.

Clifford Gravett, in Cedar City, said his belief in God provides him with positive motivation to live his best life and extend love to those around him.

Religion, he said, doesn’t need to be opposed to science or to the progress of human knowledge.

“As mankind’s understanding of itself and the universe we live in grows,” Gravett said, “that understanding can bring us closer to God and increase our love for each other.”

Salt Lake City resident Mary Laura Newman said she loves the rituals (“smells and bells”) of her faith, which connects her to her family and provides a place for her children to question, explore and celebrate.

“I find my most pressing concerns and values are echoed in the ministry,” Newman said, “such as inclusivity, diversity, equality and care of the planet.”

Nathan Sosa, who lives in Bluff, said religion binds people together with the love of God. This, in turn, propels him to love his neighbors, feed the hungry, stand up for the oppressed, fight racism, follow COVID-19 protocols and more.

“Organized religion, for me,” Sosa said, “is about praying for people, worshipping the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and doing the work of love.”

Other faiths

Buddhist Raquel Cook in Salt Lake City said she practices with other believers to reinforce her own spiritual practices and to feel the support of her community.

Presbyterian Karen Bren, who lives in Holladay, said her faith has given her opportunities to serve others and has enhanced her Bible study.

Mark Rex, a Greek Orthodox Christian who lives in Salt Lake City, said worshipping with a congregation is spiritually lifesaving, “a literal life raft In a culture adrift in materialism, despair, hand-wringing [and] blame.”

And Taylorsville resident Bill Hooper, a Lutheran, said his religion keeps him grounded and helps him recognize how to be good to everyone.

He said one thing that isn’t well understood about his faith is “how we quietly work to make a difference in our community.” Hooper said his congregation budgets 20% of all donations to go to charities outside of its own ministry, along with contributions to places like food banks and homeless shelters.

“We don’t brag about it,” he said. “We just do it.”