--- title: "Methodology" description: "The 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study (RLS), on which this project is based, is a national cross-sectional survey designed by Pew Research Center and administered by NORC at the University of Chicago. It was conducted in English and Spanish from July 17, 2023, to March 4, 2024, among a nationally representative sample of 36,908 U.S. adults. […]" 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/lds-methodology/" categories: - "Beliefs & Practices" - "Latter-day Saint (Mormon)" - "Religion & Politics" - "Religion & Social Values" --- # Methodology The [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), on which this project is based, is a national cross-sectional survey designed by Pew Research Center and administered by NORC at the University of Chicago. ### Sample sizes and margins of sampling error, among different groups | Group | Unweighted sample size | Plus or minus … | | --- | --- | --- | | Latter-day Saints (Mormons) | 565 | 6.2 percentage points | | | | | | Among Latter-day Saints | | | | Men | 253 | 9.7 percentage points | | Women | 308 | 7.5 percentage points | | | | | | Ages 18-49 | 247 | 8.9 percentage points | | 50+ | 311 | 8.1 percentage points | | | | | | Bachelor’s degree or more | 303 | 7.4 percentage points | | Less education | 262 | 8.7 percentage points | | | | | | Mountain region | 332 | 8.1 percentage points | | Other regions in the country | 233 | 9.4 percentage points | | | | | | Lifelong Latter-day Saint | 414 | 7.0 percentage points | | Latter-day Saint convert | 151 | 12.7 percentage points | | | | | | Rep/lean Rep | 412 | 7.1 percentage points | | | | | | Former Latter-day Saints | 316 | 8.1 percentage points | Note: These margins of sampling error conservatively assume a reported percentage of 50% and are calculated at the 95% confidence level. Source: Religious Landscape Study of U.S. adults conducted July 17, 2023-March 4, 2024. It was conducted in English and Spanish from July 17, 2023, to March 4, 2024, among a nationally representative sample of 36,908 U.S. adults. Here are [complete details about the RLS methodology](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/02/26/religious-landscape-study-methodology/). The accompanying table contains information on sample sizes and margins of sampling error for the groups analyzed in this project. ### Classification as a Latter-day Saint This project largely uses results from Pew Research Center surveys conducted in 2007, 2011, 2014 and 2023-24. The 2007, 2011 and 2014 surveys were conducted by telephone, and they asked respondents the following question about their religious identity: “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?” The 2023-24 RLS was largely self-administered online or using a paper questionnaire. It asked the same question about religious identity, but the response option included the church’s full name: “Mormon (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or LDS).” In all four surveys, we classify respondents as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints if they chose the “Mormon” option. (The 2007 and 2014 landscape studies, as well as our [major 2011 survey of Latter-day Saints](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2012/01/12/mormons-in-america-executive-summary/), also included a follow-up question for those who selected the “Mormon” response to clarify whether they identified with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Community of Christ, or another church. In all three surveys, at least 98% of those who identified as “Mormon” identified as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or did not specify an affiliation beyond “Mormon.” The 2023-24 RLS did not include this follow-up question.) In the 2007 and 2014 landscape studies, respondents who selected “something else” in response to the religious affiliation question were prompted to volunteer their religious identity. If respondents volunteered their religion as “Community of Christ,” “fundamentalist Latter-day Saint” or another group with historical ties to Joseph Smith, they were later back-coded into the broader “Mormon” category. The 2023-24 RLS also allowed respondents who selected “something else” to specify their religion, but did *not* back-code respondents who identified with these groups into the “Mormon” category. Only six of the 36,908 respondents to the 2023-24 RLS volunteered that they identify with a Mormon group other than the Church of Jesus-Christ of Latter-day Saints, so this small difference in the way responses are coded has little impact on comparisons between the surveys. --- **Next:** [Appendix: Detailed tables](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2026/09/22/lds-appendix-detailed-tables.md)