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by thisislife2·2y ago·view on hn ↗
They'll be in good company ... Shouldn't be too hard for them if they get their act together - Scientology has a good hold on Hollywood (Scientology’s Hollywood Real Estate Empire - https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/scientol... and Scientology and Hollywood - https://www.salon.com/2015/03/26/scientology_and_hollywood_%... ), while Mormons seems to have a stranglehold on a whole state (Utah) and the FBI (Why Mormons Make Great FBI Recruits - https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/why-mormons-make-great... ).
2 comments
As some apolitical context, these two situations are pretty different in terms of representation.

Utah was 77% Mormon in 1990 and somewhere between 42%-60% Mormon today, with a lot of that drop-off coming in just the last few years as people have stopped identifying as being members of the church. (https://religionnews.com/2023/12/28/study-utah-is-no-longer-...)

While it's absolutely true that the Utah state government is predominantly made up of Mormons, that's also representative of the population. Which may still be problematic in many ways, but feels meaningfully different to me than a group that is only a small percent of the population holding significant power.

Also to note, but not identifying as an LDS member doesn't make someone not culturally Mormon.

This can be hard to unpack for many, because they're often unaware, products of an environment that they're still living within. My ex was very culturally Muslim despite not knowing which of her traditions were specifically Muslim. I grew up with a Japanese mother, and thoroughly American people still find it difficult and exasperating to extract decisive answers from me when I think I'm being perfectly clear. Even understanding this, I'm not always as compassionate and yielding to people I find tedious, which I won't ever talk to them about if they don't also realize it.

I'm not sure how specifically cultural Mormonism presents, but knowing how deeply and totally Mormonism informs people's identities and worldview, I'm sure there are plenty of tells.

Well, the first American settlers in Utah were predominately Mormon.