Mediated Mormons: Shifting Religious Identities in the Digital Age

In the early- to mid-2010s, Mitt Romney’s presidential candidacy, the hit Broadway musical The Book of Mormon, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ “I’m a Mormon” media campaign brought critical media attention to Mormonism. In this first lengthy treatment of Mormon identities as they intersect with their religious institution, the internet, and modernity during the so-called “Mormon Moment,” Rosemary Avance explores how LDS stakeholders challenged traditional notions of what it means to be Mormon, vying for control of their own public narratives.

Mediated Mormons uses a case study approach to consider various iterations of Mormon identity as presented by church authorities, faithful members, the secular media, and heterodox and former adherents. These often-conflicting perspectives challenge traditional models of LDS authority, dismantling a monolithic view of Mormons and offering a window into processes of social activism and institutional change in the internet era.

Rosemary Avance is assistant professor of media and strategic communications at Oklahoma State University.