134: Impressive LDS Church Growth in Africa, With some Caveats
Episode description
Series Title: End of LDS Growth Analysis [Part II of VI]
Join Nathan and Val this entire series analyzing the article titled “End of Growth? Fading Prospects for Latter-day Saint Expansion” published recently in the Journal of Mormon Social Science Association (article in full linked below) where Nathan breaks down some incredibly fascinating data about the growth of several Christian churches in sub-Saharan Africa to offer some context and critique regarding the "massive growth" that some claim is happening in this part of the world in the LDS church.
Questions answered in this episode:
- Are there a lot of LDS baptisms happening in sub-Saharan Africa compared to the rest of the world?
- How does the nominal growth of the LDS church compare to other missionary-minded churches in this same area?
- What are some possible reasons why especially the Seventh Day Adventists and the Jehovah’s Witnesses are baptizing and retaining exponentially more people in this area of the world than the LDS church?
- What might the LDS church’s tendency to bring the “American church” and it’s culture to Africa have to do with their relative struggles in membership growth and retention?
- What might the LDS church learn from other thriving religions in this same demographic about allowing locals to infuse their beautiful customs and culture into a basic structure of a religious system?
Link to the article analyzed in this series:
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