Where the country’s largest homegrown religion thrives—and where it doesn’t.
By Dan Check, Matt Dodson, David Haglund, and Anna Weaver
George Frey/Getty Images
Utah, where the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is headquartered, is the state everyone associates with Mormonism. But Mormons didn’t arrive in the Beehive state until 1847, nearly 20 years after Joseph Smith, a native of Vermont, began attracting followers to his fledgling religious movement, which he founded in western New York State. After Smith was assassinated in Illinois in 1844, another Vermonter, Brigham Young, led the Mormons across the plains to a place far from the hostility of non-Mormons—and beyond the reach of the U.S. government, which outlawed polygamy, a practice Smith instituted in the late 1830s (and which the church foreswore in 1890, allowing Utah to become a state).
On the map below, you can see for yourself where Mormons have settled in the intervening centuries. Zoom in and out to dig into the county data, and click to drag the map around for better viewing. As the map makes clear, Utah remains the home base of the church—and Mormons have migrated from their initial settlement in the Salt Lake Valley to towns and cities across the Mountain West. As soon as you cross east into the Great Plains, though, you become much less likely to bump into a Latter-day Saint—indeed, you’d have better luck heading all the way back to the more densely populated parts of New England, where Smith and Young many of the other early Mormons were born. Still, across the map you’ll see smaller dots where a community of Mormons has established itself. Scroll over Liberty County, Fla., for instance, and you’ll see the Mormon population suddenly jump over 10 percent—that’s mostly because of one man, James Edwin Schuler. Just as the map as a whole quickly tells the larger story of Mormon settlement, so these small dots reflect local stories of Mormons scattered far from Zion.
As someone deeply immersed in the study of religious demographics and the historical movements of religious groups in the United States, I can confidently provide insights into the intricate details mentioned in the article titled "Where the country’s largest homegrown religion thrives—and where it doesn’t" by Dan Check, Matt Dodson, David Haglund, and Anna Weaver, published on Feb. 16, 2012, as part of SlateMap of the Week in partnership with the New America Foundation.
The article discusses the geographical distribution of Mormons in the United States, particularly highlighting the historical roots of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) and its expansion from its founding in western New York State. The piece emphasizes the central role of Utah, where the LDS Church is headquartered, but also reveals the migration patterns of Mormons across the country.
Let's break down the concepts mentioned in the article:
-
Origins and Migration of Mormons:
- The article traces the origins of the Mormon movement to Joseph Smith, a native of Vermont, who began attracting followers in western New York State in the 1830s.
- After the assassination of Joseph Smith in Illinois in 1844, Brigham Young, another Vermonter, led Mormons westward to Utah in 1847 to escape persecution and the U.S. government's opposition to polygamy, a practice initiated by Smith in the 1830s.
- The migration from the initial settlement in the Salt Lake Valley to other towns and cities across the Mountain West is highlighted.
-
Polygamy and Statehood:
- The U.S. government outlawed polygamy, a practice initiated by Joseph Smith, leading the LDS Church to officially abandon it in 1890.
- The abandonment of polygamy facilitated Utah's path to statehood.
-
Geographical Distribution:
- The article presents a map showing the geographical distribution of Mormons across the United States.
- Utah is identified as the home base of the LDS Church, with Mormons spreading from their initial settlement to various towns and cities in the Mountain West.
-
Population Density and Local Stories:
- The map illustrates the population density of Mormons in different regions, emphasizing the concentration in Utah and the Mountain West.
- Mention is made of smaller dots on the map representing communities of Mormons scattered far from the central hub, such as Liberty County, Fla., where a local story involving James Edwin Schuler is highlighted.
-
Visual Data Exploration:
- The article encourages readers to interact with the map by zooming in and out to explore county-level data and dragging the map for better viewing.
In conclusion, the article provides a comprehensive overview of the historical journey of Mormons in the United States, emphasizing their origins, migration patterns, the influence of polygamy, and the geographical distribution of the LDS population. The inclusion of a visual map enhances the reader's understanding of the spatial dynamics of Mormon settlement across the country.
