This is a list of well-known Mormon dissidents or other members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) who have either been excommunicated or have resigned from the church – as well as of individuals no longer self-identifying as LDS and those inactive individuals who are on record as not believing and/or not participating in the church. While the church doesn't regularly provide information about excommunication or resignation, those listed here have made such information public. In a very few cases, the list below may include former adherents of other Latter Day Saint movement denominations who have ceased identifying as members of the Church, as well.
See: List of Latter-day Saints for current members of the LDS Church.
Former and inactive members
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Artists, actors, and entertainment figures
- Kevin Abstract, rapper, singer-songwriter, director, and founding member of Brockhampton[1]
- Amy Adams, actress known for roles in Enchanted, Doubt, The Fighter[2]
- Christina Aguilera is a singer who was raised in an LDS home but Aguilera has not self-identified as Mormon.[3][4][5]
- David Archuleta, American pop singer[6]
- Hal Ashby, director of New Hollywood films such as Shampoo and Being There[7]
- Tal Bachman, son of Randy Bachman (Bachman-Turner Overdrive) and Canadian musician known for his 1999 hit song, "She's So High"[8]
- Randy Bachman, Canadian musician and founder of The Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive[9]
- Belladonna, American pornographic actress[10]
- Dustin Lance Black, screenwriter and producer, 2009 Oscar for Best Screenplay for Milk[11]
- Gutzon Borglum, sculptor most noted for the heads of U.S. presidents on Mount Rushmore[12]
- Wilford Brimley, actor known for Cocoon, The Firm, Quaker Oats commercials, and Liberty Medical "diabeetus" meme[13]
- Win Butler, frontman for the band Arcade Fire[14]
- Ed Catmull, animation pioneer and president of Pixar and Walt Disney Animation[15]
- Johnny Cunningham, brother of Phil, and member of Silly Wizard[citation needed]
- Phil Cunningham, Scottish folk musician,[16] member of Silly Wizard
- Cytherea, American pornographic actress.[17]
- Brian Keith Dalton, the creator, producer and main character of Mr Deity. He coined the term "Formon" for "former Mormon" in 1996.[18]
- Eliza Dushku, actress known for roles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Tru Calling, Dollhouse[19][20][21]
- Richard Dutcher, independent filmmaker and actor known for films God's Army, God's Army 2: States of Grace, Brigham City[22]
- Aaron Eckhart, Golden Globe Award-nominated actor known for roles in Thank You for Smoking, The Dark Knight, Erin Brockovich[23]
- Mindy Gledhill, singer songwriter[24][25]
- Tyler Glenn, lead singer for the American rock band Neon Trees[26][27]
- Ryan Gosling, Academy Award-nominated actor known for roles in Half Nelson, The Notebook, Drive[28]
- Leigh Harline, Hollywood composer, known most notably for "When You Wish Upon a Star"[29]
- Annette Haven, American former pornographic actress[30]
- Katherine Heigl, American actress[31]
- Jessica Holmes, Canadian comedian[32]
- Julianne Hough, dancer, actress, singer, songwriter [33]
- Neil LaBute, playwright[34]
- Bert McCracken, of the rock band The Used[35][36][37]
- David Petruschin is a drag queen with the stage name "Raven" and was raised Mormon.[38]
- Sue-Ann Post, Australian comedian[39]
- Kevin Rahm, actor known for his television roles as Kyle McCarty on Judging Amy, Lee McDermott on Desperate Housewives, and Ted Chaough on Mad Men[40]
- Dan Reynolds (singer), singer for rock band Imagine Dragons[41]
- Wayne Sermon, guitarist for rock band Imagine Dragons[42]
- Will Swenson, actor and singer[43]
- Brendon Urie, of rock band Panic! at the Disco[44][45]
- Janet Varney, American actress and podcaster[46]
- Paul Walker, actor known for role in The Fast and the Furious film series[47]
- Alex Winters, BBC children's TV presenter[48]
- La Monte Young, composer and musician.[49]
- Mahonri Young, sculptor and grandson of Brigham Young[50]
- Warren Zevon, singer/songwriter[51]
Business figures
- Bruce Bastian, businessman and philanthropist, co-created WordPerfect software.
- Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari and Chuck E. Cheese[52]
- George S. Eccles, CEO of First Security Bank and philanthropist[53]
- Marriner Eccles, CEO of First Security Bank and Chairman of the Federal Reserve System[54]
- Jim Jannard, sunglasses designer and founder of Oakley, Inc.[55]
- Bryan Johnson (entrepreneur), Founder of Braintree, Venmo and Kernel
- Wilson McCarthy, head of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad[56]
Sports figures
- Merlin Olsen, NFL star turned TV star [57]
- Mark Schultz (wrestler), Olympic Wrestling Champion.[58]
- Benji Schwimmer, the winner of the 2006 So You Think You Can Dance show.
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Scholars
- Wayne C. Booth, American literary critic and professor of English[61]
- Paul D. Boyer, biochemist, Nobel Laureate[62]
- William Jasper Kerr, president of Oregon Agricultural College (now Oregon State University) from 1907 to 1932[63]
- Spencer L. Kimball, dean of the University of Utah law school, son of Mormon prophet Spencer W. Kimball[64]
- Kip Thorne, theoretical physicist and Nobel Laureate[65]
- Lynn Wilder, Christian author and former Brigham Young University (BYU) professor who has written an ex-Mormon memoir[66]
Politics
- Rocky Anderson, 33rd mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah, 2000–2008[67]
- Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister New Zealand, 2017–2023[68]
- Frank J. Cannon, U.S. Senator from Utah[69]
- Jim Dabakis, Utah state senator.[70][71]
- James "Bo" Gritz, controversial former United States Army Special Forces officer[72]
- Abby Huntsman, political commentator and great-granddaughter of Apostle David B. Haight[73]
- Jon Huntsman Jr., former Utah governor, former U.S. Ambassador to Singapore, China, and Russia, and grandson of Apostle David B. Haight[74]
- Sonia Johnson, feminist activist.
- Kate Kendell, attorney and activist, former director of National Center for Lesbian Rights.[75]
- Alfred W. McCune, railroad builder, mine operator, and politician[76]
- Sterling McMurrin, U.S. Commissioner of Education in the Kennedy administration, provost of the University of Utah, and philosopher[77]
- Culbert Olson, twenty-ninth governor of California[78][79]
- Esther Peterson, Assistant Secretary of Labor in the Kennedy administration and consumer advocate[80]
- Pro-Life (born Marvin Richardson), politician known for his opposition to abortion and for changing his name to reflect his views[81]
- Calvin Rampton, three-term Utah governor[53]
- Marco Rubio, U.S. Senator from Florida[82]
- Brent Scowcroft, National Security Adviser to multiple U.S. Presidents [83]
- Carrie Sheffield, writer and political analyst[84]
- Kyrsten Sinema, U.S. Senator from Arizona[85][86]
- Misty Snow, political candidate; first transgender nominee for a major U.S. political party to the nation's Senate[59][87][60]
- Obert C. Tanner, founder of the O.C. Tanner Company, philanthropist, and philosophy professor[88]
- Morris Udall, Arizona Congressman and presidential candidate[89]
- Stewart Udall, Secretary of the Interior in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, Arizona congressman, environmental activist, attorney, and author[90]
- Tom Udall, U.S. Senator for New Mexico[91][92]
- Jenny Wilson (politician), Salt Lake County Mayor[93]
- Ted Wilson (mayor), former Salt Lake City mayor[93]
- Carl Wimmer, member of the Utah House of Representatives from 2006 to 2012[94]
Miscellaneous
- Heather Armstrong, blogger, dooce.com[95]
- Martha Nibley Beck, daughter of Mormon scholar Hugh Nibley and author of bestseller Leaving the Saints: How I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith.
- Sarissa Hahn, Entrepreneur
- Steve Benson, cartoonist and grandson of LDS Church president Ezra Taft Benson[96]
- Patrick Califia, sexuality writer
- Brian Evenson, American writer of literary and popular fiction[97]
- Vardis Fisher, "Lost Generation" author of Children of God and the Testament of Man[98][circular reference]
- Laci Green sex educator and online video creator for Seeker and MTV.[99]
- Johnny Harris, American journalist and YouTuber[100]
- Carolyn Tanner Irish, bishop in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America[101]
- Walter Kirn, literary editor of GQ[102]
- Grant H. Palmer, lifelong employee of the Church Educational System and author of An Insider's View of Mormon Origins (2003)
- Levi Peterson, author of The Backslider[103]
- Arthur Pratt, tenth child of LDS Apostle Orson Pratt and Sarah Pratt, deputy U.S. marshal[104]
- Sarah M. Pratt, critic of plural marriage, first wife of Apostle Orson Pratt[104]
- Jeremy Runnells, author of a widely-circulated letter critical of the LDS Church.[105]
- Cara Santa Maria, American science correspondent and podcaster[106]
- William Shunn, science fiction writer[107]
- Julia Murdock Smith, adopted daughter of Joseph Smith[108]
- Virginia Sorensen, "Lost Generation" novelist of A Little Lower Than The Angels[109]
- Jerald and Sandra Tanner, writers, researchers and critics of the LDS Church[110]
- Lynne Kanavel Whitesides, feminist[111]
Excommunicated members
- Lavina Fielding Anderson, scholar, writer, editor, and feminist[111]
- Martha Beck, sociologist, life coach, best-selling author, and columnist for O, The Oprah Magazine[112]
- Arthur Gary Bishop, serial killer and child molester[113]
- Fawn M. Brodie, biographer and history professor
- Jason Derek Brown, 489th fugitive to be placed on the FBI Ten Most Wanted list[114]
- Ted Bundy convicted serial killer and rapist
- John Dehlin, founder of the Mormon Stories podcast[115]
- James J. Hamula, former LDS general authority[116]
- Natasha Helfer, sex therapist[117]
- Mark Hofmann, double murderer and an expert forger; "considered by forensic experts to be the best forger yet caught"[118]
- Helmuth Hübener, opponent of the Third Reich;[119] posthumously reinstated by the LDS Church in 1946[120]
- Sonia Johnson, feminist and a Peace and Freedom Party presidential nominee[121]
- Kate Kelly, lawyer and feminist, advocate of woman holding the priesthood[122]
- Ogden Kraut, independent Mormon fundamentalist author[123]
- Deborah Laake, wrote an ex-Mormon memoir.[124]
- George P. Lee, former LDS general authority, convicted child molester[125][126]
- Bob Lonsberry, writer and talk radio host, expelled for "bad conduct" prior to 2001, has since rejoined[127]
- David Charles Manners, British writer and charity co-founder[128]
- Richard McCoy Jr., hijacker of a United Airliner passenger jet for ransom in 1972[129]
- Brent Lee Metcalfe, LDS Historian
- Teresa Nielsen Hayden, essayist and science fiction editor, lapsed at time of excommunication[130]
- Orson Pratt Jr., first son of Apostle Orson Pratt[104]
- D. Michael Quinn, LDS historian[111]
- Denver Snuffer, Utah lawyer and author of books on LDS doctrine[131]
- Simon Southerton, molecular biologist lapsed at time of excommunication[132]
- Paul Toscano, attorney and author[111]
- Dan Vogel, LDS Historian
- James Walker, president of Watchman Fellowship (watchman.org)
- George D. Watt, secretary to Brigham Young and compiler of the Journal of Discourses[133]
- Ann Eliza Young, ex-wife of Brigham Young[134]
See also
- Criticism of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- Culture of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- Ex-Mormon
- Exmormon Foundation
- Groups within Mormonism
- Irreligion
- List of former atheists and agnostics
- List of former Christians
- List of former Muslims
- Mormon spectrums of orthodoxy and practice
- Non-denominational
- Spiritual but not religious
References
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