How many people leave the Mormon church?

Answer 1

The Church doesn't release records on how many people have their names officially removed from Church records. Also, many people who 'leave' the Church simply stop going to Church, but still have their names on Church records and are technically considered baptized Mormons. Retention rates depend on the area, but in most places in the U.S., about 50% to 75% of baptized Mormons are actively practicing the religion. In other countries the number is usually lower, about 30-60%. The Church has 13,824,854 members worldwide, and 28,424 congregations. This would mean each congregation should have about 486 members. In reality, the average congregation size is about 250-300. That means that only about 50-60% of baptized Mormons actively participate in their congregations.

Quite a small number of people actually leave the Church and have their names taken off the records of the Church. For example, in 2009, Church membership increased from 13,508,509 to 13,824,854. That's an increase of 316,345 people. There were 280,106 converts baptized and 119,722 children born. That is 399,828 people. So we can assume 83,483 people left the Mormon Church in 2009.

Answer 2

There are no numbers indicating how many people have left the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the "Mormon" church) in the 180 years since it was founded, so we can't figure out the percent of people that have left in total. However, we can figure out how many people leave the church per year, at least for recent years.

For example, in 2009, the Church gained 280,106 new converts and 199,722 new children born. That is a total of 479,828 new members in 2009. The membership records show 13,824,854 members in 2009 and 13,508,509 members in 2008, an increase of 316,345 members. That means that 163,483 (479,828 new members minus 316,345 member increase) people left the Mormon Church in 2009. 1% of people who were Mormons in 2008 left the Church in 2009. This ratio has been pretty consistent throughout the last decade.

Answer 3

Many members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the "Mormon" church) who say they have 'left' have really just stopped attending meetings. Their names are still on church records and the Church still counts them as Mormons - they have not technically left.

However, there are many who really do leave - that is, they have their names removed from Church records. Of course, this number varies from year to year. The Church does not report this number, but it can be estimated through the other statistics that the Church publishes each April. Unfortunately, the number will also include the number of Mormons who died and had their names removed from Church records in that way.

For example, in 2009, Church membership increased from 13,508,509 to 13,824,854. That's an increase of 316,345 people. There were 280,106 converts baptized and 119,722 children born. That is 399,828 people. So we can assume 83,483 people either died or had their names removed from Mormon Church records in 2009.