February 9, 2002 at 4 PM
With a Grain of Salt
In concurrence with the Olympic hullaballoo in Salt Lake City, The Economist takes a glance at the “peculiar people,” with an eye to revealing some of the mysteries behind the church that runs Utah.
Some surprising and unsurprising factoids from the article: 70% of Utahans are Mormon, as are all of the state’s congressional representatives and Supreme Court. They don’t drink alcohol, coffee or tea. Most Mormons give 10% of their income to the church, adding up to US$6 billion a year.
There are 5 million Mormons in the US, and just as many in the rest of the world. A Washington state professor who correctly predicted today’s Mormon count estimates there will be 50 million by 2040. Or, in other words, Mormonism is “the first new world religion since Islam.”
Are they not Christian? Well, judge for yourself.
The orthodox view of the afterlife is that good Christians spend eternity in the presence of God. Mormons believe in something different: “eternal progression” towards God. Their notion is that the soul exists throughout all time (before this earthly life as well as after it), with Latter-Day Saints advancing slowly to spiritual completion.
Previously: Oops, I…
Subsequently: Hello Down There
Comments
As a friend of mine used to say, “Mormon, spelled with one M too many.”
— Gloria | Feb. 16, 2002 — 12 AM