The 2024 University of Chicago study by economist Devin Pope used GPS cell phone data from 2.1 million smartphones to track actual behavior — not self-reported surveys.
Among all religious groups studied, Latter-day Saints were the least likely to visit tobacco stores and liquor stores. This is objective behavioral data: no one was asked to report how virtuous they are. The phones tracked where people actually went. The LDS health code (Word of Wisdom) shows up not in questionnaires but in GPS data.
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