Dramatic Mormon Growth Partly Due to Change in Membership Counting

A census of religious bodies in the United States taken once every ten years that reported a large growth in the Mormon population did so in part because the sect has changed the standard for which it identifies members.

The Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies' report had the population of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 4.2 million in 2000 and 6.1 million in 2010, noting a 45.5 percent increase. However, this dramatic increase is aided by the LDS Church opting to classify as members all who have been baptized in their sect, not just those who are currently belonging to a congregation. Read more