The Study
In 2022, researchers Justin Dyer, Michael Goodman, and Robert Wood published an analysis in BYU Studies Quarterly examining the relationship between religion, sexual orientation, and youth suicidality. Their dataset was the 2019 SHARP (Student Health and Risk Prevention) survey — a statewide assessment administered to 86,346 Utah students across grades 6, 8, 10, and 12.
What makes this study significant is what it measured: actual self-deletion attempts in the prior twelve months — not ideation, not feelings, but reported attempts. The data was broken down by both sexual orientation and religious affiliation, allowing direct comparison across groups.
The Findings
Among LGBQ-identifying youth, the attempt rates by religious affiliation were:
- LDS: 10% — the lowest of any group measured
- No religion: 23%
- Protestant: 25%
- Catholic: 26%
LDS LGBQ youth had an attempt rate less than half that of youth raised with no religion whatsoever — children raised with zero church, zero doctrine, and complete freedom to self-identify without religious pressure.
The same study also measured suicidal ideation (seriously considering self-deletion). The pattern held: LDS LGBQ youth reported 28% ideation, compared to 37% for Catholic, 46% for Protestant, and 49% for youth with no religion.
Why
The researchers identified two primary explanatory factors: stronger family connections and lower substance use among LDS youth. These are not doctrinal claims — they are measurable behavioral differences that appear to benefit all youth in LDS families, including those who identify as LGBQ. The theology produces a family structure that produces protection.
Independent Confirmation
This finding has been independently replicated twice:
- Bowling Green State University (McGraw, Docherty, Chinn & Mahoney, 2021) — analyzed 73,982 students from the same SHARP dataset and confirmed LDS LGBTQ youth had lower suicide risk than peers in other religious groups or no religion.
- Baylor University (Stephen Cranney, 2017, published in the Journal of Homosexuality) — analyzed the Utah Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and found that LGB individuals who identified as Mormon reported better mental health outcomes than LGB individuals who did not.
Three independent research teams at three different universities, using different datasets and different methodologies, arrived at the same conclusion.
Discussion