Journal of the Mormon Social Science Association

Journal of the Mormon Social Science Association (JMSSA) is a peer-reviewed academic journal sponsored by the Mormon Social Science Association. Founded in 1979, the MSSA is an interdisciplinary scholarly society promoting the study of social life within the Latter Day Saint movement. Journal of the Mormon Social Science Association publishes original research, synthetic reviews, and theoretical or methodological essays on topics relevant to the Latter Day Saint movement from a social science perspective.

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Articles

The Anthropology of Mormonism: An Emerging Field
Adam Dunstan,  Kenai Peninsula College
Erica Hawvermale, Syracuse University

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Abstract

Recent decades have seen the emergence of a nascent anthropology of Mormonism. We demonstrate how anthropological work on Mormonism has crystallized around a set of themes with significant potential for both anthropology and Mormon social sciences: (1) religious authority, (2) ritual and the body, (3) physical engagement with Church history, (4) globalization, (5) gender and kinship, and (6) disbelief and heterodoxy. We argue that further progress can be achieved by focusing on the diverse individual experiences within Latter Day Saint groups.