Jana Riess
Senior columnist Jana Riess is the author of many books, including "The Prayer Wheel" (Random House/Convergent, 2018) and "The Next Mormons: How Millennials Are Changing the LDS Church" (Oxford University Press, 2019). She has a PhD in American religious history from Columbia University.
All Stories by Jana Riess
Mormons 50% more likely to accept homosexuality than in 2007, says new Pew study
By Jana Riess — November 3, 2015
Mormon support for homosexuality is low overall but growing faster than any other religion's, says a new Pew study out today. But other findings show Mormons very resistant to change.
Mormon feminists mark 40 years of women speaking up and speaking out
By Jana Riess — October 30, 2015
A new book by Joanna Brooks, Hannah Wheelwright and Rachel Hunt Steenblik looks at 40 years of Mormon feminism, showing that the questions being raised now about women in the LDS Church have a long history.
Mormon leaders announce help for refugees
By Jana Riess — October 29, 2015
This Sunday, Mormon wards around the world will hear a First Presidency letter on helping refugees. It's a brief statement, but a welcome and powerful one.
5 key takeaways from the new Mormon essays on women, priesthood, and Heavenly Mother
By Jana Riess — October 26, 2015
New LDS Church statements on women clarify that belief in Mother in Heaven is official doctrine, and acknowledge the historic role that Mormon women have had in healing by the laying on of hands.
Mormon apostle criticized for anti-Catholic remarks
By Jana Riess — October 23, 2015
To say that Catholics “don’t know who God is" is simply untrue—and unworthy.
11 challenges for the Mormon introvert
By Jana Riess — October 21, 2015
From three straight hours of church to testimony meeting and girls' camp, Mormonism can sometimes be an introvert's nightmare, says guest blogger Mette Harrison.
The rebirth — finally — of Mormon cinema
By Jana Riess — October 16, 2015
After a promising start 15 years ago, Mormon cinema sputtered and died. Now, Arthur Van Wagenen hopes to raise the bar of Mormon filmmaking -- and he has the pedigree, platform, and talent to make it happen.
Are Mormon missionaries being denied health care? How Slate dropped the ball
By Jana Riess — October 14, 2015
Yesterday's Slate article alleged that the LDS Church is denying health care to Mormon missionaries, but the article's shoddy journalism only serves to trivialize a potentially important conversation.
Mormon single woman’s loves, losses & laughter chronicled in new memoir
By Jana Riess — October 13, 2015
If you grew up thinking that by your 40s you'd be a Mormon mom with a brood of kids and a minivan, what happens when Mr. Right never shows up? In a funny new memoir, Julie Rowse explores the ups and downs of Mormon single life.
Letter to a doubting Mormon
By Jana Riess — October 9, 2015
Here I try to explain to a reader why I stay Mormon even when I sometimes disagree with or question the LDS Church. Good changes are happening, even if they are slower than I would like.
Religion scholar boycotts BYU conference to protest university policy
By Jana Riess — October 7, 2015
(RNS) Under the policy, students who enter the university as Mormons but then undergo a faith transition can be expelled, evicted from student housing and fired from on-campus jobs.
Religion scholar Mark Juergensmeyer boycotts BYU conference to protest university policy; cites religious freedom
By Jana Riess — October 6, 2015
"I could not speak at a conference that is devoted in part to religious freedom, at an institution that seemed to be denying that freedom to its own students," says UC Santa Barbara scholar Mark Juergensmeyer.
The Mormon church’s missed opportunity to engage race, international diversity (COMMENTARY)
By Jana Riess — October 5, 2015
(RNS) In filling the spots for three apostles, Mormonism had the chance “to demonstrate that this is a global church that happened to begin in America, and not an American church.” It didn't.
Naming of 3 new Mormon apostles raises questions about race, international diversity
By Jana Riess — October 5, 2015
Mormons need to think carefully when there is such a growing discrepancy between the beautiful racial and international diversity that characterizes our religion around the planet and the much narrower range that is evidenced among our most visible leaders.
5 themes Mormons can watch for in this weekend’s LDS General Conference
By Jana Riess — October 2, 2015
Will Mormons get an apostle of color this weekend, someone who represents the broadening international base of the LDS Church? And four other possible themes of General Conference.
