Editing Mormons (section)

== Groups within Mormonism ==
{{See also|Mormon spectrums of orthodoxy and -praxy|List of denominations in the Latter Day Saint movement|The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints membership statistics}}

Note that the categories below are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

=== Latter-day Saints ("LDS") ===
{{Anchor|LDS}}

Members of the LDS Church, also known as Latter-day Saints, constitute over 95 percent of Mormons.<ref>As of the end of 2015, the LDS Church reported a membership of over 15 million ({{cite web |url = https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/2015-statistical-report-april-2016-general-conference |title = 2015 Statistical Report for 2016 April General Conference |date = April 2, 2016 |access-date = July 18, 2019 |archive-date = June 29, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190629065405/https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/2015-statistical-report-april-2016-general-conference |url-status = live }}). Most other [[Brighamite|Brigham Young–lineage sects]] number in the tens of thousands. Historically, the [[Latter Day Saint  movement]] has been dominated by the LDS Church, with over 95 percent of adherents. One denomination dominates the [[Prairie Saints|non-LDS Church section of the movement]]: the [[Community of Christ]], which has about 250,000 members.)<br />Also note the use of the lower case ''d'' and hyphen in "Latter-day Saints", as opposed to the larger "Latter Day Saint movement".</ref> The beliefs and practices of LDS Mormons are generally guided by the teachings of [[general authority|LDS Church leaders]]. However, several smaller groups substantially differ from "mainstream" Mormonism in various ways.

LDS Church members who do not actively participate in worship services or church callings are often called "[[Less-active Mormon|less-active]]" or "inactive" (akin to the qualifying expressions ''non-observant'' or ''non-practicing'' used in relation to members of other religious groups).<ref name="Stack 2011-09-23">{{cite news |last = Stack |first = Peggy Fletcher |author-link = Peggy Fletcher Stack |date = September 23, 2011 |title = Active, inactive – do Mormon labels work or wound? |url = http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/lifestyle/52631643-80/mormon-church-lds-says.html.csp |newspaper = [[The Salt Lake Tribune]] |access-date = September 20, 2013 |archive-date = September 21, 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130921054458/http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/lifestyle/52631643-80/mormon-church-lds-says.html.csp |url-status = live }}.</ref> The LDS Church does not release statistics on church activity, but it is likely that about 40 percent of Mormons in the United States and 30 percent worldwide regularly attend worship services.<ref>Member activity rates are estimated from missionary reports, seminary and institute enrollment, and ratio of members per congregation – {{cite web |url = http://ldschurchgrowth.blogspot.com/2011/07/countries-of-world-by-estimated-member.html |title = Countries of the World by Estimated Member Activity Rate |date = July 11, 2011 |website = LDS Church Growth |access-date = November 11, 2011 |archive-date = March 22, 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120322135322/http://ldschurchgrowth.blogspot.com/2011/07/countries-of-world-by-estimated-member.html |url-status = live }}; See also: {{cite web |url = http://rsc.byu.edu/archived/latter-day-saint-social-life-social-research-lds-church-and-its-members/8-consequential-dim |title = The Consequential Dimension of Mormon Religiosity |author = Stan L. Albrecht |year = 1998 |access-date = November 11, 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111006013004/http://rsc.byu.edu/archived/latter-day-saint-social-life-social-research-lds-church-and-its-members/8-consequential-dim |archive-date = October 6, 2011 |url-status = dead }}; {{cite news |first = Peggy Fletcher |last = Stack |author-link = Peggy Fletcher Stack |date = July 26, 2005 |title = Keeping members a challenge for LDS church |url = http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_2890645 |newspaper = [[The Salt Lake Tribune]] |access-date = September 20, 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130921054322/http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_2890645 |archive-date = September 21, 2013 |url-status = dead |df = mdy-all }}</ref> Reasons for inactivity can include rejection of the fundamental beliefs, history of the church, lifestyle incongruities with doctrinal teachings or problems with social integration.<ref>{{citation |contribution-url = https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/collection/EoM/id/5447 |contribution = Activity in the Church |last = Cunningham |first = Perry H. |pages = 13–15 |editor-last = Ludlow |editor-first = Daniel H |editor-link = Daniel H. Ludlow |year = 1992 |title = Encyclopedia of Mormonism |location = New York |publisher = [[Macmillan Publishing]] |isbn = 978-0-02-879602-4 |oclc = 24502140 |title-link = Encyclopedia of Mormonism |access-date = September 18, 2020 |archive-date = August 5, 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210805154721/https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/collection/EoM/id/5447 |url-status = live }}</ref> Activity rates tend to vary with age, and disengagement occurs most frequently between age 16 and 25. In 1998, the church reported that most less active members returned to church activity later in life.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://rsc.byu.edu/archived/latter-day-saint-social-life-social-research-lds-church-and-its-members/8-consequential-dim |title = The Consequential Dimension of Mormon Religiosity |author = Stan L. Albrecht |year = 1998 |access-date = November 11, 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111006013004/http://rsc.byu.edu/archived/latter-day-saint-social-life-social-research-lds-church-and-its-members/8-consequential-dim |archive-date = October 6, 2011 |url-status = dead }}</ref> As of 2017, the LDS Church was losing [[millennials|millennial]]-age members,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://kutv.com/news/local/losing-their-religion-millennials-including-utahns-leaving-church|title=KUTV|last=Hatch|first=Heidi|date=May 10, 2017|access-date=December 7, 2019|archive-date=November 22, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191122155455/https://kutv.com/news/local/losing-their-religion-millennials-including-utahns-leaving-church|url-status=live}}</ref> a phenomenon not unique to the LDS Church.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/05/12/millennials-increasingly-are-driving-growth-of-nones/|title=Millennials increasingly are driving growth of 'nones'|last=Lipka|first=Michael|date=May 12, 2015|website=Pew Research Center|access-date=December 7, 2019|archive-date=December 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191209050406/https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/05/12/millennials-increasingly-are-driving-growth-of-nones/|url-status=live}}</ref> Former Latter-day Saints who seek to disassociate themselves from the religion are often referred to as [[ex-Mormon]]s.

=== Fundamentalist Mormons ===

Members of sects that broke with the LDS Church over the issue of polygamy have become known as [[Mormon fundamentalism|fundamentalist Mormons]]; these groups differ from mainstream Mormonism primarily in their belief in and practice of [[plural marriage]]. There are thought to be between 20,000 and 60,000 members of fundamentalist sects (0.1–0.4 percent of Mormons), with roughly half of them practicing polygamy.<ref>Martha Sonntag Bradley, "Polygamy-Practicing Mormons" in [[J. Gordon Melton]] and Martin Baumann (eds.) (2002). ''Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia'' '''3''':1023–24; ''[[Dateline NBC]]'', January 2, 2001; Ken Driggs, [https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V24N04_46.pdf "Twentieth-Century Polygamy and Fundamentalist Mormons in Southern Utah"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140225032210/https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V24N04_46.pdf |date=February 25, 2014 }}, ''[[Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought]]'', Winter 1991, pp. 46–47; Irwin Altman, "Polygamous Family Life: The Case of Contemporary Mormon Fundamentalists", ''[[Utah Law Review]]'' (1996) p. 369; Stephen Eliot Smith, "'The Mormon Question' Revisited: Anti-Polygamy Laws and the Free Exercise Clause", LL.M. thesis, [[Harvard Law School]], 2005.</ref> There are many fundamentalist sects, the largest two being the [[Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints]] (FLDS Church) and the [[Apostolic United Brethren]] (AUB). In addition to plural marriage, some of these groups also practice a form of [[Christian communism|Christian communalism]] known as the [[law of consecration]] or the [[United Order]]. The LDS Church seeks to distance itself from all such polygamous groups, excommunicating their members if discovered practicing or teaching it,<ref>{{cite web |url = http://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/style-guide |title = Style Guide |date = April 9, 2010 |publisher = LDS Newsroom |access-date = November 11, 2011 |quote = When referring to people or organizations that practice polygamy, it should be stated that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not affiliated with polygamous groups. |archive-date = June 13, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190613210818/https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/style-guide |url-status = live }}; The church repudiates polygamist groups and excommunicates their members if discovered – {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|p=91}}; {{cite web |url = https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna25396937 |title = Mormons seek distance from polygamous sects |year = 2008 |publisher = NBC News |access-date = July 10, 2014 |archive-date = November 2, 2022 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20221102040703/https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/style-guide |url-status = live }}</ref> and today, a majority of Mormon fundamentalists have never been members of the LDS Church.<ref>{{Cite journal |journal = Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought |url = https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V31N02_19.pdf |author = Quinn, Michael D. |issue = 2 |date = Summer 1998 |title = Plural Marriage and Mormon Fundamentalism |page = 7 |volume = 31 |doi = 10.2307/45226443 |jstor = 45226443 |s2cid = 254325184 |access-date = February 1, 2012 |archive-date = October 29, 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121029155811/https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V31N02_19.pdf |url-status = dead }}</ref>

=== Liberal Mormons ===
{{anchor|Liberal Mormon}}

Liberal Mormons, also known as Progressive Mormons, take an interpretive approach to LDS teachings and scripture.<ref name="Stack 2011-09-23" /> They look to the scriptures for spiritual guidance, but may not necessarily believe the teachings to be literally or uniquely true. For liberal Mormons, revelation is a process through which God gradually brings fallible human beings to greater understanding.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.liberalmormon.net/501whl.shtml |title = LiberalMormon.net |access-date = October 27, 2011 |archive-date = December 12, 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111212040004/http://www.liberalmormon.net/501whl.shtml |url-status = live }}.</ref> A person in this group is sometimes mistakenly regarded by others within the mainstream church as a [[Jack Mormon]], although this term is more commonly used to describe a different group with distinct motives to live the gospel in a non-traditional manner.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1974/03/i-have-a-question/where-does-the-term-jack-mormon-come-from?lang=eng|title=Where does the term 'Jack-Mormon' come from?|website=www.churchofjesuschrist.org|access-date=2019-09-14|archive-date=March 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200305033341/https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1974/03/i-have-a-question/where-does-the-term-jack-mormon-come-from?lang=eng|url-status=live}}</ref> Liberal Mormons place doing good and loving fellow human beings above the importance of believing correctly.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://latterdaymainstreet.com/2010/09/21/bringing-back-liberal-mormonism/ |title = Bringing back Liberal Mormonism |author = Chris H |date = September 21, 2010 |publisher = Main Street Plaza |access-date = October 27, 2011 |archive-date = October 16, 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111016113824/http://latterdaymainstreet.com/2010/09/21/bringing-back-liberal-mormonism/ |url-status = dead }}.</ref> In a separate context, members of small [[List of denominations in the Latter Day Saint movement#Liberal Mormon|progressive breakaway groups]] have also adopted the label.

=== Cultural Mormons ===

[[Cultural Mormon]]s are individuals who may not believe in certain doctrines or practices of the institutional [[LDS Church]] yet identify as members of the Mormon ethnic identity.<ref name="Murphy">{{Cite journal |last=Murphy |first=Thomas W. |date=1999 |title=From Racist Stereotype to Ethnic Identity: Instrumental Uses of Mormon Racial Doctrine |journal=Ethnohistory – Duke University Press |volume=46 |issue=3 |pages=451–480|jstor=483199 }}</ref><ref name="Stack 2011-09-23" /><ref name="Campbell">{{Cite book |title=Mormons and American politics : seeking the promised land: Part I – Mormons as an Ethno-Religious Group |last=Campbell |first=David E. |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2014 |isbn=9781139227247 |location=New York, NY |pages=1–2 |oclc=886644501}}</ref> Usually, this is a result of having been raised in the LDS faith or having converted and spent a large portion of one's life as an active member of the LDS Church.<ref>{{citation |url = http://www.newordermormon.org/essays/faithful-unbelievers.php |title = New Order Mormon Essays: The Paradox of the Faithful Unbeliever |first = Peggy |last = Rogers |work = New Order Mormon, NewOrderMormon.org |publisher = Publisher is anonymous |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151002184908/http://www.newordermormon.org/essays/faithful-unbelievers.php |access-date = September 19, 2020|archive-date = October 2, 2015 }}.</ref> Cultural Mormons may or may not be actively involved with the LDS Church. In some cases, they may not be members of the LDS Church.