![[FILE] Some LDS Temples, such as the one in Salt Lake City, shine lights upward on their walls. That practice, known as "uplighting," is at the center of a request the church made to change Wasatch County's outdoor lighting code.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/9fa15d7/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4677x3279+0+0/resize/840x588!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F59%2F11%2Fcf6108474490a2cbc35a38b5b417%2Fadobestock-2409708.jpeg)
The share of U.S. adults raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who still identify as members of the faith fell from 70% to 54% in less than 20 years.
Axios reports the decline could affect the religious and cultural makeup of Utah, home to nearly one in three Latter-day Saints in the U.S.
The state’s political and religious landscape could continue to change as more people from states like California, Washington, Idaho and Texas move to Utah.
The Pew Research Center findings are part of the 2023-2024 Religious Landscape Study that surveyed more than 36,000 U.S. adults about their faith and social and political views.
The trend generally aligns with a decades-long, nationwide pattern of Americans becoming less religious.
For instance, the study showed, in 2007, 58% of Americans said they prayed daily. By 2024, that number had dropped to 44%.
