meals, but very few of them became alcoholics. In contrast, very few LDS people ever consumed alcohol, but of those who did, a high percentage became alcoholics. Harold Christensen (1960, 1962) made a comparative study of adolescent sexual behavior in Utah, Indiana, and Denmark, published in the premier academic journal of sociology. He found that LDS teachings concerning chastity were reflected in the much lower rate of premarital sexual experience of LDS youth. Young people in Indiana had a moderate level of sexual experience, while those living in Denmark had the highest level.

In Bacon’s and Christensen’s studies, the religious influences are obvious, since LDS teachings forbid the consumption of alcohol and encourage chastity. The social effects of these religious teachings are also obvious—a lower level of alcohol consumptionand a higher level of chastity. These behavior patterns, in turn, influence many aspects of the social lives of LDS people, including work, family life, and economic stability.

Highlights in the Study of LDS Social Life

The two previous studies are highlights in the history of studies of LDS social life. Let me refer briefly to a few others. In the first half of the twentieth century, LDS sociologists Kimball Young, Lowry Nelson, and Harold Christensen made important studies of the Church and its members. Reed Bradford’s bibliography of Mormon studies (1971) shows that during this time period, many academic theses and dissertations were written concerning LDS people, most of which were modest studies of student or Utah samples.

In the late 1940s, the “Harvard Study of Values” (Vogt and Albert