# Fastest Growing Religion in America?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fastest-growing-religion-in-america/199365>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 3, 2003, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fastest-growing-religion-in-america/199365 "2003-09-03T17:50:57Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Homer\_J.Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a698b9/32.png) [@Homer\_J.Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homer_J.Simpson)\
**Post date:** [September 3, 2003, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fastest-growing-religion-in-america/199365/1 "2003-09-03T17:50:57Z")

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What is the fastest growing religion in America? Is it Mormonism? Is Mormonism considered a form of Christianity?

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**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\
**Post date:** [September 3, 2003, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fastest-growing-religion-in-america/199365/2 "2003-09-03T18:22:05Z")

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The only question I can answer is the third: Mormons certainly consider themselves Christian, and by most definitions of Christianity, Mormons should be included.

I might note, by the way, that “fastest growing” statistics can be very misleading. If last year I founded the First Church of Chronos, and this year I finally managed to convince another wacko to join, then that means that the First Church of Chronos has doubled in size in the past year, a feat which I’m certain has not been matched by any “mainstream” religion.

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**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\
**Post date:** [September 3, 2003, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fastest-growing-religion-in-america/199365/3 "2003-09-03T18:28:15Z")

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It’s normally quoted as being Islam, but hard data is impossible to come by as religious beliefs are not covered in the [census](http://factfinder.census.gov/home/en/futurereleases.html)

[Mormons](http://www.mormon.org/welcome/0,6929,403-1,00.html) are Christian. Their official name is The Church of Jesus Christ and the Latter-day Saints.

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**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\
**Post date:** [September 3, 2003, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fastest-growing-religion-in-america/199365/4 "2003-09-03T19:10:35Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Tapioca Dextrin \*  
> \*\* Their official name is The Church of Jesus Christ and the Latter-day Saints. \*\*

Minor nitpick. The Church of Jesus Christ **of** Latter-day Saints.

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**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\
**Post date:** [September 3, 2003, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fastest-growing-religion-in-america/199365/5 "2003-09-03T19:26:11Z")

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It’s very odd, but it seems that there are very many religions claiming to each be “the fastest growing”.

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**Author:** ![paperbackwriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@paperbackwriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paperbackwriter)\
**Post date:** [September 3, 2003, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fastest-growing-religion-in-america/199365/6 "2003-09-03T19:35:41Z")

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**Tapioca** has a very valid point – there’s no way to verify any of these claims. In addition to the ones listed above, I have been told or read the same (or similar) claims about Fundamentalist Christianity, Pentecostalism, and Jehovah’s Witnesses. I think the question is unanswerable in any meaningful way.

Which just expands what **Dogface** said.

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**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\
**Post date:** [September 3, 2003, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fastest-growing-religion-in-america/199365/7 "2003-09-03T19:44:56Z")

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Isn’t the “normally quoted as Islam” usually coming either from a Muslim trying to score points or somebody with an anti-Christian bias trying to score points? That’s what it usually looks like.