The Taxonomy of Mormonism

There are many species of Mormon human, or Homo mormonius, which include Mormons, non-Mormons, ex-Mormons, Jack Mormons, Post-Mormons, and Molly Mormons to name a few. In addition, there are various sub-species, which include active members, inactive members, less-active members, and hyper-active members.

Like every religious, social, or cultural genus, there is a great amount of diversity within the Mormon religious and cultural community. There are many members who have grown up in the Church, have attended Mormon religious services and have participated in the church culture for their entire lives. There are many who join the Church later in life and find that the Church represents the answers to life they have been seeking. There are others still who come to the conclusion that they do not believe in the doctrines of the Gospel and/or do not wish to participate in church-related activities. There are other members who become so caught up in the Church that nothing else has any significance in their lives, and they limit their worldview to the finite Mormon universe.

However, with this spectrum of diversity within the Mormon family, certain species unfortunately come into conflict with one another from time to time. In general, the greatest schism exists between those who have chosen to be active and participating members of the Church, and those who have chosen not participate. By the sheer nature of this argument, both groups feel they are in possession of greater truth, and at times may demonstrate feelings of superiority towards the other group.

Though I am not a resident of Utah, I spent most of my childhood in this predominantly Mormon state. During my formative years, I was not an “active Mormon” and thus found myself to be a religious minority. Since I did not share the same faith as many of my Mormon peers, I was often quizzed on my (lack of) faith, scorned, or rebuked for my deficient desire to participate in the religion that many valued so dearly. Together with my non-Mormon friends, we would snicker from the sidelines as we watched our Mormon contemporaries participate in what we thought was fruitless worship.

Later on, I would embrace Mormonism as I learned more and determined that it was a spring of truth that I wanted in my life. Suddenly, the Mormons received me with enthusiasm, claiming a miracle had occurred, while many of the same non-Mormon friends to whom I had been connected suddenly treated me as if I had fallen, and had been brainwashed by religion.

While living in California, a non-Mormon friend told me stories of spending time in Salt Lake City. He was amused by the fact that the community so naturally and willingly polarized itself. Both were visible and obvious, with the Mormons openly showing their pride in their religion, while the non- or inactive Mormons (most often the youth) went to great lengths to appear as “un-Mormon” as possible, even adopting extreme styles of physical appearance. In this way, they were symbolically showing their perceived freedom from the Mormons.

Why is it that these two groups tend to fail in seeking common ground? We will address this question further next week. Until then, I would love to hear what you think about it.