What Are The Most Important Political Issues To The LDS Community?
Understanding The "LDS Enclave" Pt 1
Introduction
I’m excited to announce the topic for my next 5 part series which is…
Understanding the LDS Enclave!
What is the LDS Enclave you may ask?
Recently, I came across a really fun project called the American Communities Project. They regularly collect and compile data on 15 different communities within the US. One of these communities is called the “LDS Enclave.”
And from looking on the map, I am sure you can guess which one it is. Yes, it is the dark blue color in Utah and part of Idaho.
They have county data about community, media, tech, culture, socioeconomics, and much more. So, my next 4 posts are a deep dive into all aspects of the LDS enclave and how it differs from other communities in America:
Important National Issues & Politics
Community Health & Trust
Demographics
Economics, Health, & Technology
Final Analysis and Reflection of the LDS Enclave
Charts
What are high priorities for Latter-day Saints relative to other communities?
Throughout the data, one issue stands out: Economic related issues. The LDS Enclave cares a lot about reducing taxes and inflation more so than most other national issues. More think that the government should prioritize getting out of debt and cut government programs. Who likes taxes? Well, LDS definitely don’t like taxes.
What are low priorities for the LDS Enclave?
Looking at the least important issues (relative to other communities) also tells a story. From this chart, we can see that many more democratically focused issues are not prioritized such as abortion, racism, crime and gun violence.
We will see in the later posts specifically about socioeconomics that the LDS enclave sees low crime and low teen pregnancies which may help explain why those issues are not as high as a priority.
LDS Enclave Beliefs You May Not Have Expected / Reasons Why LDS And Evangelicals Are Different
Latter-day Saints are truly a distinct community from Evangelical Christians. We can see some of these differences in the chart above. The LDS Enclave is average on climate change where as working class, rural middle america, and evangelical hubs are low.
Same with Immigration. LDS Enclave don’t see the issue quite as important as Rural Middle America, Evangelical Hubs, and Working Class County despite having a higher percentage of hispanics than those other communities!
Also, economic inequality is typically an issue focused on by democrats, but we see high numbers for the LDS Enclave and double what we see for Evangelical Hubs.
Also, while Evangelical Hubs agree with LDS Enclaves on Election Fraud being an issue which is tied to the 2020 stolen election conspiracy theory, LDS Enclaves seem to be much more interested in addressing issues of political polarization and political extremism. These issues aren’t prioritized for the working class and evangelical hubs.
To me, I see this as LDS Enclaves having more hope and desire for change as opposed to just ignoring the issues or not seeing them as a big problem.
Is Climate A Sleeper LDS Supporting Democratic Issue?
It seems that more so than Evangelical Hubs, the LDS enclave is concerned about the environment. They want to preserve it. They do not think “people worrying about the environment” are overreacting. They they are average on whether they believe climate change is a serious threat unlike Evangelical Hubs which are the lowest. Perhaps there is an angle for Democrats to reach some Republican voters through this issue?
On the other hand, if I was convincing the LDS enclave to vote Republican, I would just talk about the economy and lowering taxes a lot 😂.
Conclusion
So what are the most important issues to the LDS Enclave?
Economic wellbeing of America is a strong priority… getting out of debt, reducing inflation, and lowering taxes.
They also see problems with election security, political extremism, and polarization.
While not highly prioritized, the LDS enclave is softer on immigration and climate change than evangelical and other more republican communities.
What are low priorities?
Abortion, Racism, and Gun violence. In the coming posts, we will see data explaining why I think these some of these issues are lower for the LDS Enclave.
What do you think of this data? Is this accurate from your experience and perspective? If you are Latter-day Saint, do you share similar political priorities?
I wonder how many Latter-day Saints share my near-fetish-level preoccupation with our Constitution and the rule of law. When I see Trump and Musk going after federal spending with hammer and tong, but without benefits of congressional participation, Congress's constitutional role is the first thing I think of. Is there any survey data to illuminate this question?
good topic.
editorial note : They they are average on whether they believe climate change is a serious threat unlike Evangelical Hubs which are the lowest.