May 18-19, 2018 — Jana Riess
Miller Eccles Study Group Texas is thrilled to welcome Dr. Jana Riess as our May 2018 speaker. Jana is the author of a forthcoming book titled Millennial Mormons: The Rising Generation of Latter-day Saints (Oxford University Press, 2019), which is based on extensive surveying conducted by Jana and Benjamin Knoll.
You’re likely familiar with Jana’s writing for Religion News Service and her frequent media appearances where she provides commentary on issues relevant to current-day Mormonism and its culture. We hope you’ll join us as she describes how demographic changes are likely to influence the future of Mormonism.
STUDY GROUP DATES AND LOCATIONS:
Friday, May 18, 7 pm (McKinney)
Bettner Residence
311 N. College Street
McKinney, Texas 75069
Saturday, May 19, 7 pm (Arlington)
Baird Residence
3804 Indian Springs Trail
Arlington, Texas 76016
THE STUDY GROUP TOPIC:
“Millennial Mormons: The Rising Generation of Latter-day Saints”
How do young adult Mormons — the “Millennials” — differ politically from older Mormons, and how do they relate to authority? Research from the Next Mormons Survey (2016) indicates that young Mormons are less likely to vote Republican or adopt conservative positions than older Mormons, but more likely to do so than non-Mormons their own age. They also show a somewhat weakened relationship to institutional authority and obedience than older Mormons but are more responsive to authority than non-Mormon Millennials. Jana will discuss how Mormon Millennials are caught between competing ideals and what that means for the future practice of Mormonism. They’re part of a generation that is the least religious in modern recorded history, but they’re part of a religion that is demanding and rigorous. How they will reconcile these competing ideals tells us a good deal about where Mormonism might be heading into the 21st century.
THE SPEAKER:
Before writing Millennial Mormons, Jana Riess authored a number of books, including Flunking Sainthood: A Year of Breaking the Sabbath, Forgetting to Pray, and Still Loving My Neighbor, which was selected as one of the top ten religion books of 2011 by Publishers Weekly. Her most recent book is The Prayer Wheel: A Daily Guide to Renewing Your Faith with a Rediscovered Spiritual Practice. She is a senior columnist for Religion News Service and is often quoted in national news and magazine articles on Mormon issues. Although she was never able to climb the rope in gym class, she has a Doctorate in American religious history from Columbia University.
Jana lives in Cincinnati with her husband and daughter, who are both Episcopalians, and together they navigate the waters of being a Mormopalian family. This means that they light Advent candles early and often, but hide any evidence that wine is ever used in cooking. Jana is obsessed with travel and also loves reading, yoga, dogs, and did we mention travel? She is a Relief Society teacher in her ward and a stake Self-Reliance facilitator in the Cincinnati Ohio Stake.
Miller Eccles Study Group Texas 