Dissent in Zion: Outsider Practices in Utah

Abstract

Most communities in Utah are predominately Mormon, and Mormon practices and beliefs strongly influence practices in everyday society and culture. Yet, there also many non-Mormons who live in Utah. Through analyzing the independent documentary film The Beaver Kid and autoethnography of the author’s own experience growing up in Utah as a non-Mormon, this essay explores the influence that Mormon practices and beliefs have on “outsiders” in the communities. Concepts from practice theory such as doxa, orthodoxy, heterodoxy, and communities of practice are used to understand how outsiders resist the dominant social norms, while also being influenced to abide by them.

Keywords

• Utah
• Mormons and Non-Mormons
• practice theory
• autoethnography