---
title: "Latter-day Saints largely identify as Republican but stand out from their partisan peers on diversity issues"
description: "Three-quarters of Latter-day Saint Republicans say racial and ethnic diversity strengthens the country, compared with six-in-ten Republicans overall."
date: "2026-09-22"
authors:
  - name: "Jonathan Evans"
    job_title: "Senior Researcher"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/jonathan-evans/"
  - name: "Rebecca Leppert"
    job_title: "Writer/Editor, Religion Research"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/rebecca-leppert/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2026/09/22/latter-day-saints-largely-identify-as-republican-but-stand-out-from-their-partisan-peers-on-diversity-issues/"
categories:
  - "Beliefs & Practices"
  - "Latter-day Saint (Mormon)"
  - "Religion & Politics"
  - "Religion & Social Values"
---

# Latter-day Saints largely identify as Republican but stand out from their partisan peers on diversity issues

**About this research**

This project looks at the religious beliefs and practices, as well as the social and political views, of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes called Mormons) in the United States.

#### Why did we do this?

Pew Research Center has long studied the religiousness and political attitudes of Americans in different religious traditions. This project builds on [our major 2011 survey of Latter-day Saints](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2012/01/12/mormons-in-america-executive-summary/). Learn more about [Pew Research Center](https://www.pewresearch.org/about/) and our other [research on religion](https://www.pewresearch.org/topic/religion/).

#### How did we do this?

This project is based mainly on data from the Center’s [2023-24 Religious Landscape Study](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/02/26/decline-of-christianity-in-the-us-has-slowed-may-have-leveled-off/) (RLS), a survey of 36,908 randomly sampled U.S. adults conducted from July 17, 2023, to March 4, 2024. It included interviews with 565 people who currently identify as Latter-day Saints (414 lifelong church members and 151 converts), as well as 316 former Latter-day Saints. The RLS was made possible by The Pew Charitable Trusts, which received support from the Lilly Endowment Inc., Templeton Religion Trust, The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations and the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust.

Here are more details about the landscape study’s [methodology](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/02/26/religious-landscape-study-methodology/) and information on [the sample sizes and margins of error](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2026/09/22/lds-methodology/) for subgroups of Latter-day Saints analyzed in this project.

Latter-day Saints are a heavily conservative group. About three-quarters (73%) identify as Republicans or Republican-leaning independents, while 23% identify as Democrats or Democratic leaners, according to Pew Research Center’s [2023-24 Religious Landscape Study](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/02/26/religion-partisanship-and-ideology/#political-orientation-and-political-ideology-by-religious-affiliation).[15. numoffset="15" While the percentages who identify with the two main political parties in this round of the RLS [cannot be directly compared with previous RLS findings](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/02/26/appendix-a-comparing-results-across-religious-landscape-studies/) for methodological reasons, in all three landscape studies [most Latter-day Saints](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2015/11/03/chapter-4-social-and-political-attitudes/#political-party-and-ideology) have identified with or leaned toward the Republican Party.] (The RLS was conducted mostly in 2023 and the early part of 2024, *before* the 2024 presidential election.)

### Share of Latter-day Saints who identify as Republican differs little by demographic subgroup

*% of Latter-day Saint adults (Mormons) who identify as Republicans or Republican leaners*

|  | % | Lower bound | Upper bound | Group |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| All Latter-day Saints | 73 | 67.3 | 78.4 | 1 |
| Ages 18-49 | 72 | 64 | 79.1 | 2 |
| 50+ | 74 | 66.2 | 81.1 | 2 |
| Men | 77 | 67.7 | 84.3 | 3 |
| Women | 70 | 62.2 | 76.5 | 3 |
| Bachelor’s degree or more | 75 | 68.7 | 80.9 | 4 |
| Less education | 72 | 63.5 | 79.3 | 4 |
| Mountain region | 84 | 78.2 | 89 | 5 |
| Other regions in the country | 61 | 51.8 | 69.4 | 5 |
| Lifelong Latter-day Saint | 77 | 70.6 | 82.5 | 6 |
| Latter-day Saint convert* | 62 | 49.4 | 73.5 | 6 |

* The survey sample for this question included 151 interviews with Latter-day Saints who are converts to the church, with an effective sample size of 60 and a 95% confidence level margin of error of plus or minus 12.7 percentage points. This margin of error conservatively assumes a reported percentage of 50%. Bars in this graphic show margins of sampling error at a 95% confidence interval for each specific estimate.  Note: The only statistically significant differences in this graphic are the breaks by region and comparing lifelong Latter-day Saints with converts. The Mountain region includes Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

Source: Religious Landscape Study of U.S. adults conducted July 17, 2023-March 4, 2024. “Tradition and Change Among Latter-day Saints in the U.S.”

Currently, all nine [Latter-day Saints serving in the U.S. Congress](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/01/02/faith-on-the-hill-2025/#breakdown-by-party) are Republicans – and all represent states in the country’s Mountain region, [where Latter-day Saints are heavily concentrated](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2026/09/22/tradition-and-change-among-latter-day-saints-in-the-us/#regional-distribution-of-latter-day-saints). Church members living in the eight Mountain region states stretching from Montana to New Mexico are more likely than Latter-say Saints living in all other regions to identify as Republican (84% vs. 61%).[16. [The U.S. Census Bureau’s](https://www2.census.gov/geo/pdfs/maps-data/maps/reference/us_regdiv.pdf) Mountain division includes Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.]

There are no significant differences by age, gender or education in the percentage of Latter-day Saints who identify with the GOP, though lifelong Latter-day Saints are notably more likely than converts to the church to identify as Republican (77% vs. 62%).

While members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (widely known as Mormons) largely affiliate with the Republican Party, Latter-day Saint Republicans stand out from Republicans nationally on various social and political issues.

This analysis is part of a larger project exploring Latter-day Saints’ [demographic makeup](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2026/09/22/tradition-and-change-among-latter-day-saints-in-the-us/#how-have-latter-day-saints-changed-demographically), [religious beliefs and practices](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2026/09/22/latter-day-saints-are-highly-religious-though-not-uniformly-so/), and political and social views, as well as [how these characteristics have changed over time](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2026/09/22/tradition-and-change-among-latter-day-saints-in-the-us/#have-latter-day-saints-become-less-religious).

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are often called Mormons by other people, and for years the church used that term [to refer to its members](https://news-jm.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/-i-m-a-mormon-campaign) or related institutions, such as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. However, [the church stopped using “Mormon”](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2018/10/the-correct-name-of-the-church?lang=eng) in 2018 and [discourages others from using the term](https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/style-guide) to refer to the church or its followers. In this analysis, we primarily use the church’s full name and refer to members of the faith as “Latter-day Saints.” We include limited references to the term “Mormon” in parentheses for readers who are unfamiliar with the full name of the church or the term “Latter-day Saints."[17. In all four Pew Research Center surveys used in this analysis, we classify respondents as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints based on their answers to our long-standing religious affiliation question: “What is your present religion, if any? Are you Protestant, Roman Catholic, Mormon, Orthodox such as Greek or Russian Orthodox, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, atheist, agnostic, something else, or nothing in particular?” A few respondents who identify as “Mormon” may not be part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but, instead, may belong to smaller churches with historic connections to Joseph Smith, such as the Community of Christ. Refer to the [methodology](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2026/09/22/lds-methodology/) for more detail.]

### How Latter-day Saint Republicans’ views compare with those of Republicans overall

### Latter-day Saint Republicans are more conservative than Republicans overall on abortion, homosexuality

*Among Republicans and Republican leaners, % of adults who say …*

|  | Latter-day Saints (Mormons) | All | Diff (pct. pts.) | Statistically significant difference |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Abortion should be legal in all/most cases | 21 | 42 | -21 | Yes |
| Homosexuality should be accepted by society | 37 | 50 | -13 | Yes |
| A growing population of immigrants is a change for the better | 31 | 18 | +13 | Yes |
| The U.S. being made of people from many different races/ethnicities strengthens American society | 75 | 60 | +15 | Yes |
| The U.S. being made of people from many different religions strengthens American society | 60 | 39 | +21 | Yes |

Note: All differences are statistically significant.

Source: Religious Landscape Study of U.S. adults conducted July 17, 2023-March 4, 2024. “Tradition and Change Among Latter-day Saints in the U.S.”

On some issues, Latter-day Saint Republicans are noticeably more conservative than their national counterparts.[18. Due to small sample sizes, we do not report the views of Latter-day Saint Democrats in this analysis.] For example:

- They’re half as likely as Republicans overall to say abortion should be legal in all or most cases.[19. In a newer survey from 2026, 36% of all Republicans and Republican-leaning independents said [abortion should be legal in all or most cases](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2026/03/12/majority-of-americans-continue-to-say-abortion-should-be-legal-in-all-or-most-cases/) – down from 2024. The share of Latter-day Saints in the 2023-24 RLS who said abortion should be legal is still significantly smaller than the 2026 share among all Republicans.]

- About four-in-ten say homosexuality should be accepted in society, compared with half of all Republicans.

But Latter-day Saints overall [appear to be growing less conservative](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2026/09/22/tradition-and-change-among-latter-day-saints-in-the-us/#have-latter-day-saints-views-on-social-issues-changed-in-recent-years) on some of these issues. For example, 46% of all Latter-day Saints say in our 2023-24 RLS that homosexuality should be accepted by society, up from 24% in 2007.

And Latter-day Saint Republicans are more open than their national counterparts to racial and religious diversity. For instance, Latter-day Saint Republicans are more likely than Republicans overall to say that the U.S. population being made of people from many different races and ethnicities strengthens the country (75% vs. 60%). There is a similar response pattern on a question about religious diversity in the United States. (Latter-day Saints are themselves a minority in America, [making up roughly 2% of the population](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/02/26/decline-of-christianity-in-the-us-has-slowed-may-have-leveled-off/#trends-within-christianity).)

Latter-day Saint Republicans also are more likely than Republicans overall to say that a growing population of immigrants is a change for the better (31% vs. 18%). Still, nearly half of Latter-day Saint Republicans say that a growing immigrant population is a change for the worse (46%).

---

**Next:** [Latter-day Saints: Happy in their family lives, traditional in gender roles](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2026/09/22/latter-day-saints-happy-in-their-family-lives-traditional-in-gender-roles.md)