Generations in Transition: Belief, Disaffiliation, and the Future of Mormonism

In this episode of Dialogue Unbound, Dialogue editors Margaret Olsen Hemming and Caroline Kline sit down with religion scholar Jana Riess and political scientist Benjamin Knoll to explore one of the most pressing questions in contemporary Mormonism: why are people leaving—and who is staying?

Building on their landmark work The Next Mormons, Riess and Knoll discuss new research on generational change, belief, and disaffiliation in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Drawing on both large-scale survey data and in-depth qualitative interviews, they offer a nuanced picture that challenges common assumptions about faith transitions.
Together, they examine how Millennials and Gen Z are reshaping religious life, what the data actually reveals about why people leave, and why many remain—even amid doubt or dissonance. The conversation also explores the growing influence of political polarization, shifting gender dynamics, and broader cultural forces that are transforming not just Mormonism, but American religion more broadly.

Rather than a single story of crisis or decline, this episode highlights the complexity of lived experience: leaving is rarely about one issue, staying is rarely simple, and both are deeply shaped by the worlds people inhabit.

Whether you’re navigating your own questions of belief, studying religion, or seeking to better understand the changing landscape of Latter-day Saint life, this conversation offers insight, clarity, and a deeper sense of the human stories behind the data.