the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints It announced Friday that it would allow women to serve in missions starting at age 18, lowering the minimum age by one year and making the age requirement the same for men and women.
Change is one of the first big moves The new head of the church Dallin H. Oaks, equalizes opportunities and is a potential response to the growing numbers of young women involved in global church missions. These ministry opportunities are viewed as a rite of passage for young church members, who work to recruit new members and share the beliefs of the Utah-based faith, which has 17.5 million members worldwide. Missionaries are designed to strengthen their faith, broaden their worldview, and prepare many of them for future leadership positions in congregations.
This is the first time since 2012 that the faith widely known as the Mormon Church has changed this rule for missionaries. At that time, the minimum age for missionaries was lowered from 21 to 19 years for women and from 19 to 18 years for men. This change, seen as a watershed moment for women in the church, led to requests for new missionaries doubling within a few days of the announcement.
Changing this rule greatly increased the number of women serving missions. Sam Penrod, a spokesman for the church, said that about 25,000 out of 85,000 missionaries are currently women. This equates to 29%, a number that has remained constant over the past decade. This is more than double the 12% of female missionaries before the rule change in 2012.
The new change will likely increase the number of women in mission service, said Matt Martinich, a church growth researcher at the Cumorah Project, a privately funded research organization.
“It shows more equality in terms of missionary opportunities,” Martinich said, adding that he has heard from mission presidents that women also tend to be more effective as teachers and missionaries.
Church spokesman Doug Andersen said the change is a reflection of Oaks’ desire to provide “additional options and flexibility for young women” who want to serve. He added that the 55 new global missions announced for next year will also help meet demand.
However, some disparities remain. The duration of scholarships remains longer for men than for women: two years for men and 18 months for women. In a statement announcing the change, the church noted that every “worthy and capable young man” should prepare for missionary service while it remained optional for women.
Religion reserves its senior leadership roles for men.
Last month, the church made available Sleeveless versions of sacred underwear Worn by female members. Social media was full of images of long lines, mostly of women waiting for their chance to enter specialty stores to purchase these items, which many women said made sense from a comfort and fashion perspective.
Lee Ann Tolley, a Utah resident and Latter-day Saint, said she is excited about her 14-year-old granddaughter who wants to be a missionary. Her son served when he was 19, but her daughter did not, adding that there are different expectations in the faith for men and women.
Tolley said she is now seeing young people in her congregation and others in the area expressing a desire to share their beliefs and, more importantly, share hope in an increasingly desperate world.
“It seems that most religions – not just ours – are experiencing this revival, especially among young people,” she said.
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