The Next Mormons Survey (NMS)

Abstract

Independent online survey (Qualtrics) spanning four generations of current and former Mormons; not Church-affiliated. Basis for the book "The Next Mormons."

Findings for Latter-day Saints

• Belief levels among young-adult Mormons remain strong but institutional loyalty is weaker than among older generations.
• Identifies specific subgroups leaving and their primary reasons.
• Most former members still believe in God.

Limitations in methodology

Independent online (Qualtrics) sample is non-probability; weighting limits but does not eliminate selection bias relative to a true random sample.

Related studies

• 2025DemographicsRetention

  BYU Latter-day Saint Religious Seismology Survey

  BYU College of Religious Education

• 2026DemographicsRetention

  Latter-day Saint Trends in the United States: Religiousness, Well-being, and Retention

  W. Justin Dyer, Jenet Jacob Erickson et al.

Cite this study

Riess, J., Knoll, B. (2016). The Next Mormons Survey (NMS). Oxford University Press / thenextmormons.org. https://thenextmormons.org/methodology/

Jana Riess, et al.. "The Next Mormons Survey (NMS)." Oxford University Press / thenextmormons.org, 2016. https://thenextmormons.org/methodology/.

@article{next_mormons_survey_2016,
  title = {The Next Mormons Survey (NMS)},
  author = {Jana Riess and Benjamin Knoll},
  year = {2016},
  journal = {Oxford University Press / thenextmormons.org},
  url = {https://thenextmormons.org/methodology/},
}