The latest Temple announcements...

The catch-all forum for general topics and debates. Minimal moderation. Rated PG to PG-13.
_I have a question
_Emeritus
Posts: 9749
Joined: Fri Feb 13, 2015 8:01 am

The latest Temple announcements...

Post by _I have a question »

Mendoza, Argentina
Salvador, Brazil
Puebla, Mexico
San Juan, Puerto Rico

Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Yigo, Guam
Davao, Philippines
Auckland, New Zealand

Praia, Cape Verde
Lagos, Nigeria

Yuba City, California
Washington County, Utah

https://www.lds.org/church/news/october ... g=eng&_r=1

Notice a pattern?
“When we are confronted with evidence that challenges our deeply held beliefs we are more likely to reframe the evidence than we are to alter our beliefs. We simply invent new reasons, new justifications, new explanations. Sometimes we ignore the evidence altogether.” (Mathew Syed 'Black Box Thinking')
_slskipper
_Emeritus
Posts: 64
Joined: Sun Feb 04, 2018 5:39 am

Re: The latest Temple announcements...

Post by _slskipper »

I'm sorry, but I don't see a pattern.
_Maksutov
_Emeritus
Posts: 12480
Joined: Thu Mar 07, 2013 8:19 pm

Re: The latest Temple announcements...

Post by _Maksutov »

3rd world?
"God" is the original deus ex machina. --Maksutov
_I have a question
_Emeritus
Posts: 9749
Joined: Fri Feb 13, 2015 8:01 am

Re: The latest Temple announcements...

Post by _I have a question »

Maksutov wrote:3rd world?


That's what struck me (along with them announcing 19 new temples this year, whilst opening only 5).

Now, where did they actually open temples in 2017?
Tucson, Arizona.
Paris, France.
Meridian, Idaho.
Cedar City, Utah.

There's a pattern forming in my mind, which will take a bit more work to flesh out, but it's beginning to look like:
Announcing 3 or 4 times as many new temples as are being opened.
New temples announced increasingly in third world countries.
Current openings in mostly developed world settings.

This is perhaps a confirmation that the general membership levels in the developed world are dwindling, and the growth is in the developing world where information is less available and where poverty might drive people towards the comfort of a wealthy organisation whose leader promises them a way out of poverty. I'm not sure, needs further thought and data.

Other data points:
There are now 31 announced but unopened Temples in the pipeline. That's 6 or 7 years worth of openings at the current rates. The vast majority appear to be in developing countries.
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/ ... hronology/

Additionally there are 11 temples classed as 'under construction'. Again, the majority are in developing countries.

A total pipeline of 42 temples - equates to the amount of temples opened from 2004 onwards. Does having a big pipeline improve the balance sheet or something?
“When we are confronted with evidence that challenges our deeply held beliefs we are more likely to reframe the evidence than we are to alter our beliefs. We simply invent new reasons, new justifications, new explanations. Sometimes we ignore the evidence altogether.” (Mathew Syed 'Black Box Thinking')
_I have a question
_Emeritus
Posts: 9749
Joined: Fri Feb 13, 2015 8:01 am

Re: The latest Temple announcements...

Post by _I have a question »

Painting with a broad brush:

Temples opened since the start of 2000 - 39 out of 91 are Southern Hemisphere locations - 43%
Temples currently under construction - 8 out of 11 are Southern Hemisphere locations - 73%
Temples announced but not yet under construction - 25 out of 31 are Southern Hemisphere locations - 81%

There's definitely a pattern forming.
“When we are confronted with evidence that challenges our deeply held beliefs we are more likely to reframe the evidence than we are to alter our beliefs. We simply invent new reasons, new justifications, new explanations. Sometimes we ignore the evidence altogether.” (Mathew Syed 'Black Box Thinking')
_hope_for_things
_Emeritus
Posts: 8
Joined: Wed Sep 19, 2018 9:07 pm

Re: The latest Temple announcements...

Post by _hope_for_things »

I have a question wrote:Painting with a broad brush:

Temples opened since the start of 2000 - 39 out of 91 are Southern Hemisphere locations - 43%
Temples currently under construction - 8 out of 11 are Southern Hemisphere locations - 73%
Temples announced but not yet under construction - 25 out of 31 are Southern Hemisphere locations - 81%

There's definitely a pattern forming.

I wonder if this strategy will pay off in the long run. Is the church expecting to generate significant revenue from these countries in the future, or is the church still anticipating having to subsidize these countries?
_Maksutov
_Emeritus
Posts: 12480
Joined: Thu Mar 07, 2013 8:19 pm

Re: The latest Temple announcements...

Post by _Maksutov »

Christianity in general is becoming more and more a sub-equatorial, Third World subculture.
"God" is the original deus ex machina. --Maksutov
_Dr Exiled
_Emeritus
Posts: 3616
Joined: Wed Sep 30, 2015 3:48 am

Re: The latest Temple announcements...

Post by _Dr Exiled »

If information is the key to falling rates of conversion/retention, then the third world strategy seems to be a lemon in the long run. Sooner or later technology and information will arrive and man-made Gods will diminish in importance. Religion is just a method of getting the population to obey man-made authority and third world populations will discover this too, eventually. I can't fault the church salesmen for going where the purchasers are. However, the third world economies are continually repressed by the colonial powers, still, and the tithing won't match that of the better developed world where income distribution is better now, but heading toward that of the third world. Anyway, the church aligned itself with the rich, conservative 1% long ago and will continue to do so behind closed doors.
"Religion is about providing human community in the guise of solving problems that don’t exist or failing to solve problems that do and seeking to reconcile these contradictions and conceal the failures in bogus explanations otherwise known as theology." - Kishkumen 
_I have a question
_Emeritus
Posts: 9749
Joined: Fri Feb 13, 2015 8:01 am

Re: The latest Temple announcements...

Post by _I have a question »

By Continent:

Africa
3 in operation
2 under construction
6 announced

Asia
6 in operation
0 under construction
3 announced

Europe
12 in operation
2 under construction
1 announced (not so much an announced temple as a statement of intention to build one in Russia somewhere)

North America
87 in operation
1 under construction
6 announced

Oceania
12 in operation
0 under construction
5 announced

South America
39 in operation
6 under construction
10 announced
“When we are confronted with evidence that challenges our deeply held beliefs we are more likely to reframe the evidence than we are to alter our beliefs. We simply invent new reasons, new justifications, new explanations. Sometimes we ignore the evidence altogether.” (Mathew Syed 'Black Box Thinking')
_SuperDell
_Emeritus
Posts: 919
Joined: Fri May 01, 2015 12:27 am

Re: The latest Temple announcements...

Post by _SuperDell »

Yuba City and Washington County are definitely Third World...
“Those who never retract their opinions love themselves more than they love truth.”
― Joseph Joubert
Post Reply