San Francisco Frontiers - Show shines light on Mormons' unique place in US culture

The main Mormon Church, known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has seven million US members -- two percent of the country's population.

Fundamentalist Mormon groups, which practice polygamy, account for fewer than 100,000 people.

Mormons are still "prominent and unique in American imagination," said Brenda Weber, a professor at Indiana University and author of a book on Mormonism in media and culture.

The movement began in 1830 in New York state, coinciding with the rise of the printing press which served as a springboard for the belief system, Weber said.

Mormonism, and particularly the practice of polygamy, also inspired the Sherlock Holmes story "A Study in Scarlet," and silent cinema hit "Trapped by the Mormons" in 1922.

The Church, which emphasizes singing and dancing, has been home to many hit artists including Donny Osmond and actor Ryan Gosling.

The 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah -- which is the Church's stronghold -- marked the start of a cultural "Mormon moment."

The presidential ambitions of Republican Mormon Mitt Romney in 2008 and 2012 coincided with television programs dedicated to polygamous families in Utah.

The series "Big Love" aired between 2006 and 2011, while the reality show "Sister Wives" has broadcast since 2010.

On Broadway, the parody musical "The Book of Mormon," named after a religious text, has been a hit since 2011.

Around the same time, "Momfluencers" began gaining traction on social media -- including Mormon matriarchs who are more likely to be stay-at-home mothers with more education and wealth than other American women.

Matthew Bowman, a specialist in American religions at Claremont Graduate University, said that combination of factors created "potent possibilities for social media."

- 'Very sensitive' -

Being a proselytizing religion -- meaning followers seek to convert others -- the Mormon women active online "create media to attract people," said Weber.

After being discovered on TikTok, the heroines of "The Secret Life of Mormon Wives" are their direct descendants.

But the swinging practices of one of the stars serves as the basis for the show, the first season of which released on Hulu in 2024 and outperformed the Kardashians series.

Show stars Taylor Frankie Paul, Mayci Neeley, Jen Affleck, and others -- recently invited onto hit shows like "Dancing with the Stars" and "The Bachelorette" -- claim to want to modernize the image of Mormons.

They regularly discuss their roles in a culture where men are traditionally family heads and breadwinners. Even though the women claim they earn more than their husbands, many also paint themselves as "tradwives," according to Weber.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints did not respond to AFP's request for comments on the program.

A statement published shortly before season one criticized media representations that "depict lifestyles and practices blatantly inconsistent with the teachings of the Church."

Bowman said the Church has been struggling with something ever since 'The Book of Mormon' musical came out: "how does it grapple with publicity that may not, on the face of it, seem very favorable?"

The Church responded to the hit musical with tongue-in-cheek advertisements inviting people to read its founding text.

But overall, it "has often tended to be very sensitive about this sort of thing, and in many of its responses or public statements, it can be rather defensive," said Bowman.

S.Jackson--SFF