"Om jag inte var medlem i Jesu Kristi Kyrka, jag tror jag skulle vara ateist" : En studie om möjliga orsaker bakom fyra mormoners religiositet

Sammanfattning: This essay focuses on how four missionary Mormons from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints became religious and joined the church. In the study, three questions are posed. Firstly, what reasons could there be behind four missionary Mormons’, two men and two women, in between eighteen and twenty years old, choice of joining the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and missionizing in the south of Sweden? Secondly, how can these reasons be explained by applying four scientific theories of religion? Lastly, how can this study be helpful for teachers in the subject of religion in Swedish secondary schools? The empiric material is based upon two sets of semi-structured interviews with the missionaries in pairs. The theoretical framework of this essay is based on the theory of socialization by Peter L.Berger and Thomas Luckmann, the theory of deprivation by Charles Glock and Rodney Stark, the theory of rational choice by Rodney Stark and William S. Bainbridge and the theory of searching for meaning and belonging by Peter L. Berger. My study shows that there are different reasons behind the four missionary Mormons’ choice of joining the church. Thus, the four theories can all be used to explain different aspects of these four Mormons’ religiousness. The study also shows that parts of the results can be helpful for teachers of RE in Swedish secondary schools.