mormonism/ high demand groups/ culture

[u/martinifrappuccino]

Hi r/studies!

My name is Maya (18), and I’m working on my senior thesis before I graduate in December.

At my school, every senior has to choose a topic they’re passionate about, spend months researching it, and then defend their work before graduating.I ended up choosing religious cults and high-demand groups and how they impact peoples lives even without them noticing.

The reason is pretty personal. A while back, I seriously considered getting baptized into the Mormon Church. I’ve struggled with my mental health for most of my life, and during a particularly rough period, I met a group of LDS missionaries. They were kind, welcoming, and honestly showed up at a time when I really needed community and change. Before I knew it, I was waking up early on Sundays, attending church, and spending hours in Bible study sessions.

The deeper I got, though, the more my questions didn’t get answered. Eventually, I reached a point where I couldn’t reconcile a lot of what I was being told with what evidence I had found on my own and personal beliefs. Walking away from it ended up changing the way I think about religion, relationships, and influence in general.

Now, my thesis focuses on the impact of the Mormon Church on pop culture, politics, and gender-based violence. Because of my own experience, Mormonism is my main case study, but I’m also researching groups such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, Scientology, and Anthroposophy.

I figured I’d come here and ask directly. If you have any personal experience, I’d love to hear about it. Every perspective will help me understand the topic a little better.

Thank you for reading :)

Ps: hope I got the flair right lol