One hour church would be an unmitigated disaster. I was originally pretty happy with the shift to 2 hour church (as a missionary at the time it made things more comfortable for people attending for the first time), but I've grown to rather dislike the change. I'm a YM advisor now, and it is tough only seeing the boys twice a month, and only teaching once or twice a quarter. I feel that while there hasn't been a significant decline in religiosity caused by the change, I would bet that there has been a decline in a feeling of community, even if small (and probably more pronounced among those that attend infrequently). There's less opportunity to talk with people in the hall, fewer chances for people who come late to participate, and fewer touch points between quorum and RS leaders. It won't ever happen, but I would be thrilled if we went back to three hour church.
By the way, I just discovered this blog and absolutely love it! This and Matt's Church Growth Blog over at the Cumorah Project are my Friday morning reading. Thanks for your hard work on this
I like your comment about opportunities. I am a huge proponent of a robust public transit system because I think it's healthy for a community when people bump shoulders with other people and have more opportunity for socialization. "There are other people right there and maybe they aren't that different from myself" I think you are right that we need to watch what happens with socialization if this ever comes into effect.
The only reason I see going to 1 hour church is because church growth spikes heavily and we need to accommodate growth in existing buildings. I agree with JTB in that there would be less community, and we're commanded to gather oft in His name. Sacrament meeting is one thing, but losing the opportunities to uplift and edify others would be lost. Yes, there are talk in Sacrament meeting, but there's not a participatory environment there where we learn as much from one another or their insights.
I’m not a data scientist like you, but isn’t this simply correlation? Like, these aren’t predictably causal. I see you are considering a confounding variable of covid, and previous trend-lines, but to me this data really only shows one thing: that there are overall declines in attendance and religiosity. Which isn’t dissimilar to the overall trend in the US of people leaving religion ( which the pew research center has been tracking for decades.)
So what is causing these overall declining rates of religious attendance and decrease in religiosity? And are those the same factors as those in broader religious groups?
Thanks for this thoughtful comment! You’re exactly right that the charts here show correlations/trends, not strong causal evidence. That’s why I framed it as looking for any signs of a shift in slope after the 2-hour change, rather than proving cause and effect. With observational survey data like the CES, especially with relatively small Mormon samples, it’s almost impossible to definitively separate causality from broader trends.
And you’re right again that the broader context is the long-running U.S. decline in religiosity, which Pew and others have tracked for decades. My analysis here suggests that Mormons are experiencing that same downward trend—and that the 2-hour change doesn’t seem to have bent the curve in either direction.
The “what’s causing the decline” question is a huge one, and goes beyond this particular post. Demographics, generational change, cultural shifts, political polarization—there’s likely a mix. One thing I’m interested in is whether the Mormon decline is steeper or slower than the general U.S. trend, which could help tease apart what’s unique vs. what’s part of the larger American story.
Appreciate you raising this, and you’ve given me ideas for a future deep-dive comparing Mormon trends to other religious groups.
I am a former Evangelical and am familiar with the 1ish hour church service. It would likely require the auxiliaries like Elders, RS, the youth occurring on a different day of the week (which will pose its own issues with participation) and the children’s program would have to be either during the sacrament meeting or also on a different day of the week.
There are already issues with people (especially mothers) having opportunity to build community with other members and the general doctrinal knowledge of adults has suffered, in my observation, since the change.
Sacrament is absolutely the core of the purpose of Sunday meetings but if people feel disconnected from their spiritual community in a world that is also suffering from disconnect, it would not surprise me if 1 hr church not only didn’t change the trend but possibly hastens it.
I need to get out more and see a few evangelical services. I would be interested in understanding the general flow.
From what I've heard from the LDS pilot program, sacrament would be 30 minutes and then transition to RS or EQ for 30-45 minutes. So both blocks would be shortened into a combined 1hr or 1.25 hrs.
I'd definitely recommend you visit some other churches and write about it. I've been making an effort to do so about once a quarter and find things I love in many other faiths. Though I've only recorded impressions for myself. A few big ones: #1 big windows in the main sanctuaries (chapels), #2 pass the peace - everyone standing up and shaking hands with people around them and saying “peace be with you” #3 special seating areas for kids to color and do crafts during the main service
Goodness! That just not seem like enough time to do anything! For myself I have 3 children and sometimes we are running late, we already miss the sacrament sometimes and if we were to arrive at church late, get ourselves and the kids settled, and then have to leave in 30ish minutes it would hardly seem worth it.
I do not favor a one hour block. I assume the one hour block would only be sacrament meeting. Although that is the single most import event of the Sabbath, I feel church members need the association and group study contained in the second hour of the two hour block. Apart from the loss of group association and joined study effort, I think the one hour block would overflow into a large amount of people talking with people who yearn for the social aspect of church. This would happen in the chapel as well as the foyers clogging progress for the next ward's sacrament meeting. I think it would nearly be impossible to control that. Aside from all that, I see no advantage in cutting things down to one hour. There are those who do a good deal of studying to prepare for their second hour activities. Cutting that out might discourage preparation for the Sabbath.
The general trends illustrated by your charts are a little discouraging. I would have hoped to see an increase instead of a decrease, but oh well. I guess those are the trends.
I appreciate what you do with your articles and posts. Keep it up.
I appreciate the kind words and leaving your thoughts.
I think you are right that a key part of all of this conversation is the community aspect. Right now there is a strong sense of community among LDS, but if the institution begins to demand less what will happen to the community aspect. That's something I'll watch closely especially if a 1 hr church change happens!
This topic is interesting. I don't know that the purpose of the change to was to increase weekly participation for US members. The change to home centered church supported gospel learning was definitely a benefit for many during the covid shutdowns.
I had not heard about the 1 hour pilot. Global implementation of that would not be my preference but we will see.
It's true the purpose of the change isn't defined - though I'm sure religiosity is important to church leaders. It will be interesting to see how things continue to evolve over time.
I find the issue that needs addressing is boredom. Church is just plain boring. Whether it is 1, 2 or 3 hours, all of those iterations are people sitting in a room being talked at. There is just not any community building opportunities. We just rotate the same content over and over. I don’t know what other churches do, but we need to inject something that ramps up engagement.
Interesting topic and I really like the comments about what would happen in a one hour church. A one hour Sunday would be more palatable to newcomers, and as the Church expands to a truly worldwide version of itself, this may be a necessity.
I have done the 1 hour in the morning and 1 hour in the evening version of church back in the 70's, the 3 hour block, the 2 hour block, and the Covid Zoom meetings, and the not going at all block. I was relieved in each new phase!
I generally think that the Church requires a lot of attendance - Seminary 5 days a week, Mutual once a week, Sunday Church (and all the corollary activities), activities, ministering, temple trips, and so on, and I also believe this is to keep everyone "in". In places like Utah, getting to a building or another member's home is quick, but no so much as you move farther away from Utah or Idaho, so getting there becomes a bigger challenge for families.
The Church is high demand on purpose, so demanding less is an interesting thought. I wonder if there will be an alternative activity or change to weekday activities to supplement what would be lost on Sunday.
Back in the 70s, church was central. There wasn’t much else to compete with church. Now, there is a large market of things that compete on equal footing with the church for something that brings value to a person’s life. The church is no longer as central as it used to be. And I think it needs to somehow figure out the value part now in light of all the other things that can bring value.
One hour church would be an unmitigated disaster. I was originally pretty happy with the shift to 2 hour church (as a missionary at the time it made things more comfortable for people attending for the first time), but I've grown to rather dislike the change. I'm a YM advisor now, and it is tough only seeing the boys twice a month, and only teaching once or twice a quarter. I feel that while there hasn't been a significant decline in religiosity caused by the change, I would bet that there has been a decline in a feeling of community, even if small (and probably more pronounced among those that attend infrequently). There's less opportunity to talk with people in the hall, fewer chances for people who come late to participate, and fewer touch points between quorum and RS leaders. It won't ever happen, but I would be thrilled if we went back to three hour church.
By the way, I just discovered this blog and absolutely love it! This and Matt's Church Growth Blog over at the Cumorah Project are my Friday morning reading. Thanks for your hard work on this
Thanks for reading and glad you like the page!
I like your comment about opportunities. I am a huge proponent of a robust public transit system because I think it's healthy for a community when people bump shoulders with other people and have more opportunity for socialization. "There are other people right there and maybe they aren't that different from myself" I think you are right that we need to watch what happens with socialization if this ever comes into effect.
I ride public transit and people are on their phones, not interacting with others.
The only reason I see going to 1 hour church is because church growth spikes heavily and we need to accommodate growth in existing buildings. I agree with JTB in that there would be less community, and we're commanded to gather oft in His name. Sacrament meeting is one thing, but losing the opportunities to uplift and edify others would be lost. Yes, there are talk in Sacrament meeting, but there's not a participatory environment there where we learn as much from one another or their insights.
But perhaps this is a further winnowing...
I’m not a data scientist like you, but isn’t this simply correlation? Like, these aren’t predictably causal. I see you are considering a confounding variable of covid, and previous trend-lines, but to me this data really only shows one thing: that there are overall declines in attendance and religiosity. Which isn’t dissimilar to the overall trend in the US of people leaving religion ( which the pew research center has been tracking for decades.)
So what is causing these overall declining rates of religious attendance and decrease in religiosity? And are those the same factors as those in broader religious groups?
Thanks for this thoughtful comment! You’re exactly right that the charts here show correlations/trends, not strong causal evidence. That’s why I framed it as looking for any signs of a shift in slope after the 2-hour change, rather than proving cause and effect. With observational survey data like the CES, especially with relatively small Mormon samples, it’s almost impossible to definitively separate causality from broader trends.
And you’re right again that the broader context is the long-running U.S. decline in religiosity, which Pew and others have tracked for decades. My analysis here suggests that Mormons are experiencing that same downward trend—and that the 2-hour change doesn’t seem to have bent the curve in either direction.
The “what’s causing the decline” question is a huge one, and goes beyond this particular post. Demographics, generational change, cultural shifts, political polarization—there’s likely a mix. One thing I’m interested in is whether the Mormon decline is steeper or slower than the general U.S. trend, which could help tease apart what’s unique vs. what’s part of the larger American story.
Appreciate you raising this, and you’ve given me ideas for a future deep-dive comparing Mormon trends to other religious groups.
Thanks Alex! You’re doing great work here!
Also laughing a bit because you and I both used the same stock image for our latest posts!
Thank you! There are only so many LDS stock photos on substack so if it was bound to happen 😂
I am a former Evangelical and am familiar with the 1ish hour church service. It would likely require the auxiliaries like Elders, RS, the youth occurring on a different day of the week (which will pose its own issues with participation) and the children’s program would have to be either during the sacrament meeting or also on a different day of the week.
There are already issues with people (especially mothers) having opportunity to build community with other members and the general doctrinal knowledge of adults has suffered, in my observation, since the change.
Sacrament is absolutely the core of the purpose of Sunday meetings but if people feel disconnected from their spiritual community in a world that is also suffering from disconnect, it would not surprise me if 1 hr church not only didn’t change the trend but possibly hastens it.
I need to get out more and see a few evangelical services. I would be interested in understanding the general flow.
From what I've heard from the LDS pilot program, sacrament would be 30 minutes and then transition to RS or EQ for 30-45 minutes. So both blocks would be shortened into a combined 1hr or 1.25 hrs.
I'd definitely recommend you visit some other churches and write about it. I've been making an effort to do so about once a quarter and find things I love in many other faiths. Though I've only recorded impressions for myself. A few big ones: #1 big windows in the main sanctuaries (chapels), #2 pass the peace - everyone standing up and shaking hands with people around them and saying “peace be with you” #3 special seating areas for kids to color and do crafts during the main service
Goodness! That just not seem like enough time to do anything! For myself I have 3 children and sometimes we are running late, we already miss the sacrament sometimes and if we were to arrive at church late, get ourselves and the kids settled, and then have to leave in 30ish minutes it would hardly seem worth it.
And for the record I am highly critical of the way evangelicals run their churches and do not recommend following their model.
I do not favor a one hour block. I assume the one hour block would only be sacrament meeting. Although that is the single most import event of the Sabbath, I feel church members need the association and group study contained in the second hour of the two hour block. Apart from the loss of group association and joined study effort, I think the one hour block would overflow into a large amount of people talking with people who yearn for the social aspect of church. This would happen in the chapel as well as the foyers clogging progress for the next ward's sacrament meeting. I think it would nearly be impossible to control that. Aside from all that, I see no advantage in cutting things down to one hour. There are those who do a good deal of studying to prepare for their second hour activities. Cutting that out might discourage preparation for the Sabbath.
The general trends illustrated by your charts are a little discouraging. I would have hoped to see an increase instead of a decrease, but oh well. I guess those are the trends.
I appreciate what you do with your articles and posts. Keep it up.
I appreciate the kind words and leaving your thoughts.
I think you are right that a key part of all of this conversation is the community aspect. Right now there is a strong sense of community among LDS, but if the institution begins to demand less what will happen to the community aspect. That's something I'll watch closely especially if a 1 hr church change happens!
This topic is interesting. I don't know that the purpose of the change to was to increase weekly participation for US members. The change to home centered church supported gospel learning was definitely a benefit for many during the covid shutdowns.
I had not heard about the 1 hour pilot. Global implementation of that would not be my preference but we will see.
It's true the purpose of the change isn't defined - though I'm sure religiosity is important to church leaders. It will be interesting to see how things continue to evolve over time.
I find the issue that needs addressing is boredom. Church is just plain boring. Whether it is 1, 2 or 3 hours, all of those iterations are people sitting in a room being talked at. There is just not any community building opportunities. We just rotate the same content over and over. I don’t know what other churches do, but we need to inject something that ramps up engagement.
Interesting topic and I really like the comments about what would happen in a one hour church. A one hour Sunday would be more palatable to newcomers, and as the Church expands to a truly worldwide version of itself, this may be a necessity.
I have done the 1 hour in the morning and 1 hour in the evening version of church back in the 70's, the 3 hour block, the 2 hour block, and the Covid Zoom meetings, and the not going at all block. I was relieved in each new phase!
I generally think that the Church requires a lot of attendance - Seminary 5 days a week, Mutual once a week, Sunday Church (and all the corollary activities), activities, ministering, temple trips, and so on, and I also believe this is to keep everyone "in". In places like Utah, getting to a building or another member's home is quick, but no so much as you move farther away from Utah or Idaho, so getting there becomes a bigger challenge for families.
The Church is high demand on purpose, so demanding less is an interesting thought. I wonder if there will be an alternative activity or change to weekday activities to supplement what would be lost on Sunday.
Back in the 70s, church was central. There wasn’t much else to compete with church. Now, there is a large market of things that compete on equal footing with the church for something that brings value to a person’s life. The church is no longer as central as it used to be. And I think it needs to somehow figure out the value part now in light of all the other things that can bring value.
i’m ALL about one hour church and already participate this way. it leaves the door open for people who are on the verge of leaving completely.
At this rate we'll be attending zero hours a week in 2034