Keywords

Religion, Religious activity, Utah, Mormon, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Sociolinguistics

Abstract

Studies have found that Mormons and non-Mormons in Utah exhibit significant linguistic differences. We break this down further by investigating whether there are also differences between Mormons who actively participate in the religion and those who do not, and find significant differences with a medium or larger effect size between the groups for multiple variables. We conclude that when investigating the linguistic correlates of religious affiliation in a community, it is vital to elicit not just respondents’ religious affiliations, but also their level of participation within that religion.

Original Publication Citation

Wendy Baker-Smemoe, David Bowie, Linguistic behavior and religious activity, Language & Communication, Volume 42, 2015, Pages 116-124, ISSN 0271-5309, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.langcom.2014.12.004.