The state of Utah is known for being a bit of an oddball, contributing to the many misconceptions (and truths) about it. Anyone who has lived outside of the state and entered into it has experienced culture shocks, even if they have only lived a state or two away. It’s no secret that the main reason for these quirks is the presence of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, more commonly known as the Mormon church.
In the 1800s, the Mormon pioneers settled in the Salt Lake Valley and soon after began creating settlements around the state. They were simply a territory of the United States until they achieved statehood in 1896, which meant that they could afford to be a mini-theocracy since all the new settlers in the state were of the same faith. Even after Utah became a state, it was still largely Mormon until the 2000s. This history is the root of why Utah is such a unique place.
Not the entirety of Utah is Mormon. In fact, currently it’s less than 50%. But there are still many misconceptions when it comes to Utah, and these mostly revolve around Mormon doctrine and the very few members who follow it religiously. These rules include things like dressing ‘modestly’, refraining from swearing, not drinking coffee, no tattoos, et cetera. Although there are people in Utah who do these things, it is definitely not the majority, even among the Mormon population. However, there are legitimately strange things about Utah that aren’t crude exaggerations.
One of the most peculiar things about Utah is the amount of “Dirty Soda” shops. Dirty soda is a Utah commodity featuring a soda base with added sugary syrups, fruits, or cream. In Utah, it’s common to have at least three dirty soda shops within a mile of your house. Some of the most popular among these are Swig, Fiiz, and Sodalicious. The reason for these shops goes back to Utah’s high Mormon population. According to the Mormon church’s Word of Wisdom, members cannot drink coffee or tea. While the rest of the world gets their daily caffeine from coffee or tea, Mormons instead drink large amounts of caffeinated dirty sodas in order to get their energy for the day.
Utah also has a collection of strange laws, including gambling and lotteries being virtually illegal. In order to avoid a Class B misdemeanor, Utahns must gamble out of state. This is because of, once again, the Mormon church’s teachings of the evils of gambling. Given that the majority of Utah’s government is Mormon, laws like these are easy to pass.
Another thing that is disproportionately represented in Utah is the social media influencer. From a young age, girls in the LDS church are taught to scrapbook and journal in order to keep memories. So it just makes sense that this would translate to documenting their lives online. Additionally, the LDS church has a culture of telling their women that their job is to have children and stay home. This makes them the perfect influencer– time on their hands and a built in cast of characters for their social media persona. This isn’t the only thing that contributes to the Utah influencer. The purity culture in Utah fits into being an influencer perfectly. Many influencers try to keep a family friendly audience, and Mormons have a reputation of being extremely clean. Additionally, the average age of marriage in Utah is 25.8– the lowest in the country and four years younger than the national average of about 29. This means that families in Utah are being started very early, and the people love a young influencer.
These examples are just a few of what makes Utah what it is. Despite these, Utah is a beautiful, unique place to make your home, and all of the quirks just add to its charm.
