Dr. Jana Riess of Religion News Service published an article recently asking, “Why are young women leaving Mormonism?” It’s a great question, and one we could ask about every age group of Latter-day Saint women. Some answers seem very obvious; some may be harder to pin down. So how many women are actually leaving, and might institutional and/or cultural changes reverse the trend? In Episode 272, Jana joins Cynthia and Susan for a conversation about women and church, touching on 3 potential “P” (problem) areas: politics, purity culture, and powerlessness.
Notes & Quotes:
Find Jana's Religion News Service column, Flunking Sainthood, here
Why Are So Many Young Women Leaving Mormonism?, by Jana Riess, Flunking Sainthood, Religion News Service, 8/4/2026
The Diaries of Carol Lynn Pearson—Mormon Author, Feminist, and Activist: Volume 2: 1990–2002, by Carol Lynn Pearson
If Not Now, When? Mormon Women and the Priesthood, essay from The Challenge of Honesty: Essays for Latter-day Saints, by Frances Lee Menlove
“Aileen went on to say that since 1980 the statistics for women's attendance at church have gone down, for the first time in church history. Not a huge jump, but consistently down. ‘The Brethren's emphasis on getting the priesthood in a strong place has worked; the men's statistics are up. But not the women's, It has had a dastardly effect on the women.’’’ —Carol Lynn Pearson, (p. 62, April 26, 1992)
“As I go about my business in the world I am so encouraged that so many, many people of such diverse backgrounds are trying to sincerely help heal the wounds patriarchy has given to all of us. And then I come home to the dark, sterile, correlated “ males only “ club that is my church, and I am sick at heart.” —Carol Lynn Pearson, (p. 14, 1990)
“Christy Lloyd asked him ( stake pres) if he would join a church in which the females did everything important from passing the sacrament to presiding, and in the eternities his wife could have more than one husband, etc. etc. He said no, and most men wouldn't, but women *do* and that's the difference. I mean, he said it like because women don't have the pride men have, they will put up with things men wouldn't.” —Carol Lynn Pearson, (p. 52, 1992)
“The tasks of one age are not necessarily the tasks of another. I am suggesting that one of the tasks of our age is to bring into reality that ancient baptismal formula: “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew nor Greek, there is no longer slave nor free, there is no longer male nor female: for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:27–28) Perhaps the new research, along with the Internet and the energy of people meeting each other and re-evaluating their experiences, will prove to be the key in allowing us to embrace this egalitarian vision, this discipleship of equals, and transform it into a new social reality.” —Frances Lee Menlove