High-Demand Religion

A concept Kyle draws from Law of the Harvest: the counterintuitive finding that high-demand faiths grow faster, not slower. Strictness correlates with growth rather than attrition. The book points to Seventh-Day Adventists and Jehovah’s Witnesses, who impose commitments as demanding as the LDS Church’s, retain far better, and grow 8–11% annually. The underlying claim — “faiths that require little offer little and fail to mobilize the commitment and dedication that are prerequisites for sustained rapid growth” — is anchored to Joseph Smith’s formulation that “a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary to lead unto life and salvation.” It sits alongside the book’s themes of Church Growth, Convert Retention, and Religious Internalization.

Context: “High-demand religion” (often “strict church”) is a term in the sociology of religion — associated with work like Rodney Stark, Roger Finke, and Laurence Iannaccone — describing how religious groups that impose costly commitments tend to retain more committed members and grow, by screening out free-riders and raising the value of participation.

Where this appears

• Law of the Harvest — the book’s argument that strictness correlates with growth and retention, illustrated with Adventists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Joseph Smith’s “sacrifice of all things” line.