I’m from Ireland. Most people here are either Protestant or Catholic. I know you guys have Mormans and Jehovah Witness over there. What do they believe and believe and are they strict?

35 comments

1. Do you only have one type of Protestant over there? Over here every protestant church holds different beliefs.

2. Most Christian Americans are either Protestant or Catholic, much like Ireland. Mormons are a large religious group, but are especially geographically concentrated in parts of the western US surrounding the state of Utah. You can google their beliefs, mostly because Wikipedia will give you a better synopsis than I can, but they definitely have a reputation of being a little more strict than most religions (although, as someone with a lot of Mormon friends, I think this isn’t necessarily accurate). JWs aren’t especially common, and it’s somewhat challenging to get a lot of hard and fast data on them since they don’t participate in much outside of their own community, but again, you’re probably better served looking them up online. I only really know one person somehow affiliated with them, so small sample size, but they do seem like they live up to the strict reputation.

3. There’s a Mormon sub. They are pretty friendly whenever I lurk there, so they could probably answer your question about their beliefs

   r/latterdaysaints

4. Hi! I’m a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A lot of people call us “Mormons.” We are followers of Jesus Christ and believe that His church has been restored to the earth in these “latter days,” though a living prophet. We believe that though the Atonement of Jesus Christ, all mankind may be saved if they have faith in Him, repent, receive baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by one with priesthood authority, and keep the commandments of God. We believe that Christ’s Atonement is at the center of God’s plan of happiness that provides a way for individuals to be exalted and families to be united forever. We believe that God loves His children and our greatest responsibility in this life is to be a disciple of Christ through faithful service, love, charity to our fellow man. We dedicated our time and efforts to building God’s kingdom through voluntary service in our church and community. We read the Holy Bible, The Book of Mormon, other revealed works, and also receive guidance from a living prophet and twelve apostles.

   I hope this helps a bit. 💕

5. Idk. Most people here are Catholic or Protestant too. We also tend to look at those two sects as culty

6. Protestants break down into many different sects. Some just off the top of my head: Baptists, Methodists, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, and Lutheran. Each has slightly different beliefs and traditions.

   There’s also a growing number of nondenominational churches who are mostly Christian but they can have members from different religions who are welcome.

   Some other religions such as Baha’i and Hara Krishna are also growing.

7. Fascinated by Mormons, too. I have been watching the Mormon Stories Podcast on YouTube. True they are ex-Mormons, so the viewpoint is somewhat skewed. The podcast is moderated by someone who was excommunicated a few years ago. Not just an American thing, either. There is a significant Mormon presence in the UK, too. I believe Michael Jackson’s family were Jehovah’s Witnesses, as well as Prince and President Eisenhower until adulthood.

8. Mormons generally believe the same things other Christians do, but it gets a little more complicated. They believe that “god” is basically a title and that 3 people hold this title Heavenly Father (Jesus’ dad), Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. This is called the Godhead. They believe separate “degrees of glory” Celestial (the highest), telestial, terrestrial, and outer darkness (one person would be there that we know of since it requires perfect knowledge of God and a rejection of him). To get to the Celestial Kingdom, you need to be baptized, married in the temple, chaste, etc. In the Celestial Kingdom you are in the direct presence of God (the godhead). In the telestial and terrestrial you aren’t, but Jesus visits, and outer darkness is eternal nothingness. When you die before the second coming of Jesus you are sent to one of two places, Spirit Paradise or Spirit Prison. Paradise is exactly what it sounds like and Spirit Prison is essentially somewhere you go as a second chance to accept Jesus as your savior or face damnation. Mormons believe in paying tithing, baptisms for the dead (baptism by proxy), emergency preparedness. This is basically what they believe but obviously it gets more complicated as you research it.

   Source: Born and raised Mormon. Quit at about 18 years old.

9. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of sects of Christianity are in the U. S.

   Religion is not a divisive thing here in the same way it is in for instance, Ireland. Here it tends to be more about race if looking for a hot button topic or something with a painful history here.

   However some immigrants did bring those beefs with them and biases with them. But it has mostly fizzled out in my opinion. Note I am speaking broadly since we have over 300 million citizens here.

   For what those religions believe I don’t want to speak for them, so I would advise going to their official websites.

   The Latter Day Saints or Mormons though, follow books revealed to their prophet Joseph Smith. They faced a lot of early persecution, for various reasons.

   My ancestors crossed paths with early Mormons in various ways so I’ve read a lot of early stories and people really were mean to them — however some also showed a lot of empathy. Not my ancestors in either case I don’t really know how they interacted if at all. But overall people.

10. Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses have one big thing in common. Proselytization. I have a bit more leniency with the Mormons since their missionaries are young men who are essentially forced into it by their families and communities. JWs though are grown-ass adults.

    Mormons have a special book that they use as scripture alongside the standard Christian Bible. They are mildly secretive with regards to some of their ritual, but otherwise pretty benign. The polygamy is mostly a thing of the past, but it’s still present among fundamentalist sects (“FLDS”).

    JWs are downright abusive. Like Scientology level, just without the aliens and pseudoscience. Families will disown members who leave the organization. One notable feature with them is that they don’t celebrate birthdays, major holidays, and they don’t vote. The birthday thing was to the chagrin of my mom when she was a kid. Her grandmother converted to JW later in life as a widow and refused to acknowledge her birthday. Fortunately the rest of the family remained Lutheran.

    Both are non-trinitarian forms of “Christianity”, as it were.

11. There are also many other religions within the U. S.

    Pretty much anything found in the world since we come from everywhere (originally.)

12. They are cults and believe some pretty weird stuff. They are not representative of the average Christian in America, especially the Jehovah’s witnesses as they are a very small minority. The Mormons aren’t allowed to drink tea or coffee, have to wear special underwear, believe the garden of Eden was in Missouri, and they used to say that black people were cursed, off the top of my head.

13. Northern Baptist, Southern Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, those are some I haven’t seen mentioned yet.

    I’m not sure what the ones who believe in snakes not harming them, are called. Mostly in Appalachian churches I think although they have various churches there too.

    Charismatic, Pentecostal, Fundamentalist, Evangelical, are types of sects and then many will have their own church name.

14. As an Irishman, you might be familiar with Quakers (the Society of Friends).

15. You can use Wikipedia or other internet resources to find specific beliefs, but you should know that most other Christians do NOT consider Mormons or Jehovah’s Witnesses to be part of legitimate Christianity. They are not trinitarian, and they deny the deity of Christ. Those would be the biggest reasons why.

    They also believe in a works-based salvation, and they have both have their own unique scripture different than what is accepted by the rest of Christianity. Mormons have “The Book of Mormon” which is considered another testament in addition to the Old and New Testaments, as well as “Doctrine and Covenants”, and “the Pearl of Great Price.” Jehovah’s Witnesses have their unique “translation” of the Bible called “the New World Translation” which has been heavily altered to fit their theology. Additionally, they produce their own publication called “The Watchtower” which has lessons and JW theology, and they consider it necessary to interpret the Bible correctly.

    These are some of the big objections the rest of Christianity has to Mormonism and the Jehovah’s Witnesses organization. They both do have lots of weird and quirky beliefs that you can find. The JW organization also has a history of failed prophecies about the end of the world.

16. You guys have the same ones we do.

17. We have many Protestant denominations, and some of them have divided over theological or cultural issues. For example, Southern Baptists broke off over the issue of slavery a long time ago, and Presbyterians have divided more recently over left/right politics. And there are, historically, black and white churches – I’m not sure if they are organized under a whole different organizational structure, or if the same denomination just has two churches in one town. In my town there is a non-denominational church that advertises the fact that they are a “multi-ethnic congregation” right on their sign, to attract people who value that.

    We have a complicated cluster of movements under the banner of *evangelical Christianty* that includes the Pentacostals, charismatics, and a other subgroups that have varying degrees of overlap with each other.

    Don’t forget we have lots of Eastern Orthodox worshippers here. Some people compare them to the Catholic church but there are some glaring differences and generally neither likes to be compared with the other.

    We have many practicing Hindus, Jews, Muslims, Sikhs and Buddhists. There are worship/cultural centers for these religions – bigger cities and cities with concentrated immigrant communities are most likely to have them.

    We have a smattering of practitioners of syncretic folk religions blending traditional folk beliefs with Catholicism, like Vodou and Santeria.
    Most of them also identify as Catholic. I used to work with a guy whose grandmother was a Santeria practitioner. He told me “People get a blessing from my abuela on Friday, do their sinning on Saturday, and confess to the priest on Sunday.”

    Many Native Americans maintain their traditional practices, stories and beliefs. These are a blend of spiritual / supernatural beliefs, oral history, and just plain wisdom handed down over generations. The native peoples didn’t have specialized doctors, priests, historians, etc. So these are “religions” only for want of a better word. They are simultaneously less than, and much more, than what most of the world thinks of as a religion.

    And I’m definitely leaving some stuff out.

    I guess we are probably the most religiously diverse nation on the planet. If not, I’m the top three for sure.

18. Utahn here. The Mormon church (Formally the Later day Saints, LDS) are kinda like the sequel. They got a new prophet at the scale of Moses, a new fancy book to add to the others, and special underwear as a bonus.

    As for strictness? Hard for me to guage as I am just not as familiar with other churches. You don’t get excommunicated from the church very often, but it IS possible. They have a pretty long list of do’s and dont’s that most people pretend to follow strictly but only follow lightly.

    All in all, it depends on the individual people. Which I think is true of all religions and all people’s.

19. There’s a fair bit of Orthodox Christian minorities here as well (Greek, Serbian, Romanian), particularly in the Midwest.

    In contrast to the Greek Orthodox practices in the old country, Greek Orthodox priests in the US look more like their catholic counterparts here than in Greece -no long beards, no big hats, and the day-to-day dress is different. Many priests (up to 50% last time I read) are actually converts to the denomination.

    The sermons are mostly done in both Greek and English, varying depending on the audience. Priests can marry and have children, and can decline assignments- my grandmother’s priest refused to take a position in a bigger city with a larger congregation because he liked where he was at and didn’t want to move his family.

    And enduring a full Catholic wedding is *nothing* like enduring a full Orthodox one.

20. I’m very good friends with a Mormon, he’s a great guy, and he’s told me a few times what their beliefs are like. The one in particular that struck out to me is that they believe that Judgement Day won’t arrive until everyone on earth is Mormon; or, as I like to put it, passive aggressive world domination

21. As a former Mormon, they are both strict, but from what I understand the Jehovah’s Witnesses are more so. They’re radically regressive offshoots of Christianity.

    Mormons are big on unswerving blind obedience to the president of the church, on paying 10% of your gross income as tithing no matter what, and on not questioning the church. They believe in a supplemental religious text called the Book of Mormon which was made up by Joseph Smith. There’s a big health code called the Word of Wisdom, written into a related text, which lays out many guidelines for Mormons to follow for their own health but the “no coffee, tea, tobacco, or alcohol” is often the only guideline in that code that really gets followed.

    There’s also a *lot* of controversy regarding the true history of the church and the way the church interacts with secular society. For one, the church has built up a “last days fund” that currently sits at over $110B USD in real estate and other investments yet still demands every member be a full tithe payer. There’s issues with the way women, LGBTQ, POC, and other minorities are treated (spoiler: not well at all). With church history, the controversy regards what kind of people Joseph Smith and Brigham Young were as well as why JS was really killed (for treasonous acts as well as acts of vandalism), not to mention his act of taking multiple wives and preying on teenage girls for said wives.

    As for JW’s, the main things I know about them are that they take an even more hardline stance on social issues, they do not celebrate any holidays whatsoever, and that they actively shun people who’ve left the faith.

    Edit: check out r/exmormon sometime if you want a deeper dive into why people leave the Mormon church. I’m warning you now, the stories are often full of pain and hurt, so the tone might be a little abrasive.

22. I don’t know much about JWs, but I work in healthcare and a really big thing is JWs do NOT accept blood transfusions. Even if they’re dying they will often still refuse because it goes against their faith. That’s a lot of dedication.

23. Mormans believe in not drinking caffeine and jehovas witnesses believe in knocking on your front door to talk about Jesus when you’re running late for work, need to stop for gas on the way to work and you’re scrambling to stuff your feet into your shoes as quickly as possible all the while trying to explain to them that you’re an atheist and have no interest in the god they’re trying to sell you.

24. I don’t have much of an opinion on Mormons. If you want to know more about them, I recommended visiting the state of Utah. As for Jehovah Witnesses, they are basically a cult. No Christian branch that I’m aware of recognizes them as Christians. They are very strict and have very different beliefs than any of the Christian branches. The first example I can think off the top of my head is that they believe that only 144,000 people will be saved.

25. Mormons wear sacred blessed underwear at almost all times.

    They believe when they die they will become a diety.

26. Jehovah’s Witnesses are an organization that believes doomsday is right around the corner. They are the only true religion. Only a small group of their people are going to be saved. We have been in the end times for more than a century now. They shun apostates which feels wrong to me personally. Especially when it’s family

    Mormons believe that Joseph Smith discovered a third testament of the bible called the Book of Mormon. It talks about how the ancient lost tribes of Israel came to America and interacted with the ancient American Indians. Jesus then came to North America as well preaching there. Eventually it describes the collapse of the small Mormon/Israelite community into greater American Indian society. While foreigners often describe Mormonism as a protestant denomination, a lot of their beliefs (including the rejection of the supremacy of the bible) lead a majority of American Christians (myself included) to consider Mormonism a completely new religion. That doesn’t make it bad. It just makes it different. They are very conservative. Famously BYU (the big Mormon University) refuses to do anything on Sundays. They also require all male members to do missionary work around the time they become an adult.

27. Where I am is mosty Catholic. We also have Jewish, Methodist, Luthern and Baptist churches. Farther noth is probably more Luthern. In the South/Southeast there are more Baptist/Southern Baptist churches. Southern Baptist are strict. In Utah is where a lot of Mormons live. Jehovah Witness aren’t a very big percentage, but are everywhere. Also, there are Amish and Menonite churches are in some northern communities, and they are very strict. Basically every religion ever invented is in America somewhere.

28. It’s hard to generalize a whole religion. My preacher has a trans daughter .

29. We for sure have more Protestants than anything else and it’s largely split amongst Baptists, Pentecostal, Assembly of God Pentecostal, Calvary Chapel, and Non-Denominational.

30. To the detriment of everyone’s well being, I know for a fact the UK has Jehovah’s Witnesses, as I follow a couple from across the pond who are ex JWs. As much as Christianity is kinda a doomsday cult with Revelations, they are an EXTREME doomsday cult. As you get situated within the organization the majority of your income goes to the church on pain of discipline. If any of your family leaves the org you’re heavily pressured to never speak to them again. Strict dress code, there’s an international meme about tight pants because the media put out by the headquarters in New York had one of the elders (their leadership) said something along the lines of “tight boys pants made to excite the gays in the fashion industry.” Run of the mill ignorance intolerance and persecution of anything that escapes the gender roles, genders, sexualities offered in the Bible. Fuck them with a rusty can of soup.

31. We have so many religions. So many people with different ancestries= a lot of different religions.

    Mormans are pretty strict and it’s also a bitch to leave the church if you so choose. Most people need to hire a lawyer and you better be prepared to cut off your entire family. The belief system is similar to Christianity, but a lot of it is stuff that was added on later in America.

    I don’t know much about JW but I know they’re not allowed to celebrate Christmas or birthdays. I went to school with two girls who were Jehovah’s Witnesses and that’s the only time religion came up between us. Because they weren’t allowed to come to birthday parties, and couldn’t accept gifts for those occasions.

    In my area, most people are Catholic or protestant. But there’s also a Lutheran and Presbyterian, and Episcopal church in my town, and non-denominational ones everywhere. There’s a Jewish temple and a mosque a town over, and I’m sure there are other religions that people near me practice, but as far as I know there’s no big place of worship.

    We also have a pretty large Mormon population for someplace other than Utah, and there’s a large-ish community of either Amish or Menonites a half hour drive away.

    America really is a melting pot. The above is just what I know off the top of my head of a small area in upstate NY.

32. Mormons are very nice people, but their actual beliefs are nuts. They don’t believe in the Trinity as one God in three persons: they believe in three gods. And that if you’re a good person, you too can become a god with your own planet to rule over. But you have to be married to go to the highest level of heaven.

    Jehovah’s Witnesses are a cult. They also don’t believe in the Trinity. They say the Son and Holy Spirit are creations of the Father. They don’t allow their members to get blood transfusions or any blood products, so sometimes people die because of that. And if a member leaves their church, they are shunned by everyone. As in, I have a friend who left JW and is now Catholic and his parents refuse to speak to him. Didn’t go to his wedding.

33. Mormons: Magic. Mostly strict.

    Jehova’s witnesses: End times. Mostly strict.

    Pentacostals: Snakes are religious or something. Mostly insane.

    Amish: Tech is not god’s will. Strict.

34. We’re largely a country of the many different branches of Protestantism, with little hotspots of Catholics mostly concentrated in the more Hispanic areas. Mormons proclaim themselves as Christian but are pretty out-there and have their own scripture. They’re big on clean living, dressing modest and absolutely not putting any substances whatsoever into their bodies and all that. Jehovah’s Witnesses are also theological outliers, to say the least. They don’t celebrate any holidays or say the Pledge of Allegiance. We also have a fair amount of Anabaptist communities; Amish, Mennonites and the like. They live very simply, secluded from the modern world and many of its technologies.

    Aside from that, there really isn’t too much difference between all the Protestants. Seventh Day Adventists are a little bit crazy, but they’re alright. Southern Baptists can get judgemental. Methodists are all about love. Pentecostals are generally tame nowadays even if a little heavy on the whole prosperity gospel, but there are still sects that handle snakes and speak in tongues and basically just make their church services like wild concerts but with incessant references to God. Most Christianity is concentrated in what’s known as the Bible Belt. It’s generally associated with Conservatism.

35. I can’t say much about Jehovah’s Witnesses, but I used to be Mormon. Mormons tend to be pretty strict from my experience. JWs aren’t too common, but Mormons are mainly around or in a western state called Utah (where I’m from).

    They like wearing underwear they say protects them, going to this building known as a Temple to do various rituals they think can help them get to a higher order of heaven when they die, they refuse to drink tea or coffee and they cannot drink or smoke, and 18 year old guys have to go on missions. 19 year old girls have the option, but are more pressured to marry a man who returned from a mission than to go on one herself. They also like another scripture book called “The Book of Mormon”. It would take a while for me to explain, but I’m fine if you want me to explain it in a reply. Many people see it as more important than the bible.

    Mormon culture is a culture of pressure, and I find it extremely conformist, at least in Utah. Usually, Mormons are encouraged to blend their religion with just about every aspect of their life. Salt Lake City isn’t as Mormon as most of the state, but the Mormon church has a lot of power in Utah since many people with power here are Mormon and as mentioned before, usually blend the church and their beliefs and actions. Probably less strict than JWs, but I’d still say they’re strict.

    Mormon history is fucking wild, and the history gets pretty fucked up. If you’re curious about anything, feel free to ask.