LGBTQ and Mormon Families Survey

The LGBTQ and Mormon Families Survey is an anonymous online survey of persons from a Mormon background who are the parents of, or identify themselves as, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or same-sex attracted. Participants were contacted through social networks, in-person LGBTQ/Mormon events and online groups. The snowball convenience sample of 763 participants intentionally maximized diversity across the religious belief and orthodoxy spectrum.

Data File

Cases: 763
Variables: 272
Weight Variable: None

Data Collection

Date Collected: 2013 - 2014

Collection Procedures

Recruitment for the anonymous online survey took place in two rounds of distribution in 2013-14. Study participants had to self-identify as (or be the parent of) lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or same-sex attracted and either come from a Mormon background or be active in the Mormon Church. There were 480 respondents in the first wave and 283 participants in the second round of collection. The second round was collected to increase the sample size and also incorporated feedback from round one participants.

Sampling Procedures

The primary investigators established the social contacts for survey promotion during several years of fieldwork in Mormon communities. Recruitment for the survey was conducted at LGBT Pride festivals, on national listservs and both private and public Facebook and Reddit groups related to LGB/SSA Mormons, ex-Mormons and family members, among gay-straight alliances in Mormon communities, and with self-described LGB/SSA Mormons and ex-Mormon online bloggers. Snowball sampling through social networks, particularly among religiously active Mormons, also was used to distribute the survey. A national convenience sample was used to capture the largely underground population on which there is little existing data to date. Survey promotion was strategically designed to maximize the diversity of the sample across a spectrum of religious belief and orthodoxy, from progressive to conservative. The Pis deliberately accessed a wide variety of organizations and networks, taking special care to reach more orthodox LGB/SSA subjects. We distributed our survey through organizations such as Affirmation, North Star, LDS Family Fellowship, and PFLAG and North Star. The fact that almost 24 percent of the sample reported that they were "celibate for religious reasons" strongly suggests success in reaching more orthodox active-Mormons.

Principal Investigators

Lauren Joseph and Stephen Cranney