Jana Riess
A progressive Mormon’s top 10 highlights of this weekend’s LDS General Conference
By Jana Riess — October 7, 2019
Holy Harry Potter! From changes to women's roles to a new youth program, announcements came fast and furious.
New Book of Mormon videos aim to include women’s voices
By Jana Riess — September 25, 2019
Only two women speak in the Book of Mormon, but the Church's new video series aims to showcase female characters and voices when possible, says actress Kymberly Mellen.
Religious Americans are overly pessimistic about the family, study finds
By Jana Riess — September 23, 2019
Divorce, teen sex and teen pregnancy are down. But the most religious Americans have not gotten the memo that there's any good news about the U.S. family.
This is your brain on Mormon Facebook
By Jana Riess — September 18, 2019
Racially, religiously, and educationally, the small subset of former Mormons who are now involved in ex-Mormon social media groups are not representative of the whole.
5 tips for churches on how to hold onto millennials and GenZ
By Jana Riess — September 13, 2019
(RNS) — With more young adults emptying the pews, new research from the Barna Group shows what some churches are doing right for Millennials and GenZ.
Which religions support gun control in the US?
By Jana Riess — August 29, 2019
With mass shootings becoming a regular occurrence, it’s worth dissecting which Americans support gun control, and how they affiliate religiously -- or don’t.
With new gun rule, Mormons take a step away from Republican right wing
By Jana Riess — August 27, 2019
(RNS) — This marks the latest small step the church has taken away from the GOP, either by tweaking its policies or upholding its usual position to the right of center, while Republicans swing ever further to the right.
All hail the Mormon pioneers!
By Jana Riess — July 22, 2019
I don't have any Mormon pioneer ancestors, but I do have two whose paths crossed with the Saints in the 1840s and 1850s, and their stories give me strength.
Did the 2015 Mormon LGBT exclusion policy drive a mass exodus out of the Church?
By Jana Riess — May 29, 2019
Data shows that the 2015 Mormon LGBT exclusion policy was not enough by itself to drive many out of the LDS Church, but it contributed to disillusionment.
So Cal conference this weekend on Mormon Millennials
By Jana Riess — April 25, 2019
Scholars, journalists, and data crunchers are meeting in Claremont, CA on Saturday to discuss what's happening with Mormon Millennials.
Millennial Mormons and the polarized future of the faith
By Jana Riess — March 4, 2019
Early reactions to "The Next Mormons" mirror the polarization I see happening in the Mormon world more generally, as people separate themselves into camps and police their boundaries.
10 ways Utah Mormons are a breed apart
By Jana Riess — January 11, 2019
Is there really such a thing as a "Utah effect" in American Mormonism?
What’s coming for religion in 2019? Here’s what the experts predict.
By Aysha Khan — December 31, 2018
(RNS) — Scholars, faith leaders, activists and other experts predict what changes the American and global religious landscapes will see after the New Year.
Getting through a Christmas of grief
By Jana Riess — November 29, 2018
Here's the Advent devotional I wish I'd had six years ago when I was engulfed with grief.
Which Mormon practices lead to increased spiritual experiences?
By Jana Riess — August 16, 2018
It turns out that prayer and scripture study do in fact seem to help Mormons feel closer to God. Avoiding coffee and Game of Thrones? Not so much.
