LDS Doctrine, Teachings, and Culture as Related to Body Image

Why do Latter-day Saints, whose faith teaches that our bodies are sacred, still struggle with body image at such high rates? Salt Lake City ranks among the top cities in the country for plastic surgeons per capita, and Utah leads the nation in searches for breast augmentation.

My colleague Dr. Sarah Coyne and I set out to understand why, interviewing and surveying over 1,400 Latter-day Saints about how doctrine, church culture, and everyday teachings shape the way they see their bodies.

We found that core doctrines like divine heritage, the Atonement, and an embodied Heavenly Mother are tied to healthier body image, while how modesty and grace get taught, especially when framed as something to be earned, or as protecting men's thoughts, can do real damage. Congregation culture mattered just as much as doctrine itself.

Click here to read the full research brief, "Bodies at Church: Latter-day Saint Doctrine, Teaching, and Culture as Related to Body Image," published through Utah State University's Utah Women & Leadership Project.