The book “The Rise of Christianity” by Rodney Stark was an interesting discussion of the rapid growth of the LDS.
The main point was that the LDS like most religions, propagated via relatives and friends. People tend to “convert” when a preponderance of their friends and relatives have converted. It becomes increasingly uncomfortable to resist.
I suspect that atheism is benefiting from this syndrome at the moment.
Missionary work, including LDS, has a phenomenally low success rate. I don’t recall it, but from memory a missionary might convert 1-2 people per year based on cold calls. I suspect that missionary work is done, not so much to get converts, as to reinforce the group identity of the missionaries.
Missionary work, including LDS, has a phenomenally low success rate. I don’t recall it, but from memory a missionary might convert 1-2 people per year based on cold calls.
A one year doubling or tripling time doesn’t strike me as “phenomenally low”.
Conversion means conversion to an official church member, not another missionary, and conversion can be (and depending on who you ask, frequently is) reversed, for missionaries as well as new converts.
Missionary work, including LDS, has a phenomenally low success rate. I don’t recall it, but from memory a missionary might convert 1-2 people per year based on cold calls. I suspect that missionary work is done, not so much to get converts, as to reinforce the group identity of the missionaries.
It has long been my strong suspicion that the point of missionary work is not in the conversions, but in the consistency pressure on the missionary—that for the rest of his life, he will on some level think “I ran around telling people this was true for two years—surely that wasn’t for nothing.”
The book “The Rise of Christianity” by Rodney Stark was an interesting discussion of the rapid growth of the LDS.
The main point was that the LDS like most religions, propagated via relatives and friends. People tend to “convert” when a preponderance of their friends and relatives have converted. It becomes increasingly uncomfortable to resist.
I suspect that atheism is benefiting from this syndrome at the moment.
Missionary work, including LDS, has a phenomenally low success rate. I don’t recall it, but from memory a missionary might convert 1-2 people per year based on cold calls. I suspect that missionary work is done, not so much to get converts, as to reinforce the group identity of the missionaries.
A one year doubling or tripling time doesn’t strike me as “phenomenally low”.
Conversion means conversion to an official church member, not another missionary, and conversion can be (and depending on who you ask, frequently is) reversed, for missionaries as well as new converts.
I like to learn more about missionary success rates. That sounds really low.
What happened in South Korea?
It has long been my strong suspicion that the point of missionary work is not in the conversions, but in the consistency pressure on the missionary—that for the rest of his life, he will on some level think “I ran around telling people this was true for two years—surely that wasn’t for nothing.”