More companies owned by religious groups

[snopes]

Comment: Is it true the Mormons or LDS owns Marriott chain and Walgreens?

I've heard that the Marriott family is/was a Mormon family, but that's a far cry from saying that the entire chain is "owned by the Mormons."

What Class Bravo said. The owners are Mormons, but the Mormons (Church of LDS) are not the owners. (At least for Marriott - not sure about the other one. Chick-Fil-A's owner is Mormon also).

[Not_Done_Living]

With 55 million LDS in the US, i am sure there are many companies owned by Mormons.. just wondering though...

is Mormon business ownership a cause for concern or something?

[Errata]

Originally Posted by Not_Done_Living

With 55 million LDS in the US, i am sure there are many companies owned by Mormons..

What??? Thats wildly inaccurate. That number would mean over 1 in every 6 Americans was Mormon. That simply isn't the case, and it should be obvious that that isn't the case if you have much experience with America (outside of the state of Utah where they are the majority). Its closer to 1 in 50. There are under 7 million mormons in the US, with a similar number living outside the US.

[Skeptic]

Originally Posted by Errata

What??? Thats wildly inaccurate. That number would mean over 1 in every 6 Americans was Mormon. That simply isn't the case, and it should be obvious that that isn't the case if you have much experience with America (outside of the state of Utah where they are the majority). Its closer to 1 in 50. There are under 7 million mormons in the US, with a similar number living outside the US.

No doubting you, as it seems a reasonable estimate, but how is this fact known. Isn't religious affiliation kept off census forms for constitutional reasons in the USA. Surveys would not be accuurte, as religion seems to vary from place to place.

[pinqy]

Originally Posted by Skeptic

No doubting you, as it seems a reasonable estimate, but how is this fact known. Isn't religious affiliation kept off census forms for constitutional reasons in the USA. Surveys would not be accuurte, as religion seems to vary from place to place.

The Census has, in the past, asked about religion, but never regularly and it hasn't done it in decades. Public Law 94-521 prohibiits mandatory questions about religious affiliation, but the Census can ask on a voluntary basis...they just don't. The Statistical Abstract of the US does contain info on religion.

And in many cases, a survey would be more accurate than a census...the larger the census, the greater the likelihood of sampling error.

pinqy

[Errata]

Originally Posted by Skeptic

No doubting you, as it seems a reasonable estimate, but how is this fact known. Isn't religious affiliation kept off census forms for constitutional reasons in the USA. Surveys would not be accuurte, as religion seems to vary from place to place.

Why do you think surveys would be unaccurate for that reason? Everything varies from region to region. There is always a margin of error, but it doesn't mean polls don't work at all. Pollsters don't just survey people in a particular area, but everywhere in proportion. Some surveys are larger than others, but at least some are big enough to be statistically significant nation wide.

The numbers vary, depending on methodology, but they are all within a range, and that range is much less than 55 million. Thats why I didn't give 3 significant digits, but I gave a very broad range of "less than 7 million". That range covers most of the estimates. Many of them are in fact much less than 7 million, more in the range of 2-3 million. 55 million is off by an order of magnitude, its not even in the ballpark of any figures.

The numbers I used are from the LDS church itself, which tend to be higher than numbers from surveys. They are more tightly organized than some other more personal faiths you might be familiar with, so its feasible for them to have actual numbers on their membership. They may have different criteria for who they include in their numbers than others though. There are some small Mormon offshoot groups that don't fall in the official LDS, but certainly not 48 million of them.

[Not_Done_Living]

whoops... typo causes chaos on Snopes.. i meant 5.5 million... 5 POINT 5 or 5 and a half million in the US

sorry!

[Errata]

Originally Posted by Not_Done_Living

whoops... typo causes chaos on Snopes.. i meant 5.5 million... 5 POINT 5 or 5 and a half million in the US

sorry!

Ok, thats much more reasonable.

[Kev]

Originally Posted by noftessa

What Class Bravo said. The owners are Mormons, but the Mormons (Church of LDS) are not the owners. (At least for Marriott - not sure about the other one. Chick-Fil-A's owner is Mormon also).

Are you talking about Chick-Fil-A's founder and chairman S. Truett Cathy? He's a Baptist.

[Tantei Kid]

Originally Posted by Not_Done_Living

With 55 million LDS in the US, i am sure there are many companies owned by Mormons.. just wondering though...

is Mormon business ownership a cause for concern or something?

Eh, there are people, not me of course , who feel their enthusiasm for John 12:8 for their temples is a little excessive. (admittedly they do good charity too). That and the money goes to massive efforts to convert people to a religion that came to pass exceedingly dwindling in disbelief. Er, that is a religion founded by a documented con artist. Not that I would confront any of them about what they believe, that's their private business.

That said, I have nothing particular against Mormon people operating a business (even if 10% of my purchase goes to the church), but I would think twice about patronizing a business run by the church itself.

truett cathy , ceo of chic-fil-a is a Southern Baptist, not a Mormon.

[ganzfeld]

Originally Posted by pinqy

And in many cases, a survey would be more accurate than a census...the larger the census, the greater the likelihood of sampling error.

I guess this is true in principle but doesn't it depend a great deal on how well the survey participants are randomized, how many choose to participate, whether there is some reason to participate or not to... It just seems like it would be kind of hard to make a survey that's close to census quality. I suppose what you say is true for well-done surveys but I'm pretty sure most surveys don't rise to that level of accuracy. Is that wrong?

Originally Posted by Kev

Are you talking about Chick-Fil-A's founder and chairman S. Truett Cathy? He's a Baptist.

Wow, my bad. That is what I get for listening to a Mormon!

Seriously though, a friend told me that the founder was Mormon, which is why the restaurant was closed on Sundays. I totally regret passing on that info with checking it first. Sorry, and thanks for the correction.

[snopes]

Comment: Dear Whomever,

I have heard, alternately, the persistent rumor that the Catholic Church
is the owner of the most property on Manhattan in NYC or that is owns the
most valuable property in NYC; specifically St. Patrick's Cathedral in
lower Manhattan.

Originally Posted by snopes

I have heard...that the Catholic Church
is the owner of ....St. Patrick's Cathedral in
lower Manhattan.

No, we just rent it from the Jewish World Church....

[Judecat]

Since there are more Catholics in Manhattan than any other religious affiliation, then it might be true to say that most of the residental property is owned by Catholic families but that doesn't mean the Catholic Church owns them.

And as far as St Patrick's being the most valuable propety, how are you measuring value. I can't think of any measure of value where any church would be more valuable than a high rise, or a mansion. Even if you are talking about the just value of the real estate if it were vacant, would not be any higher for the land St Patric's sits on per square foot, than the property next door.

[Errata]

Originally Posted by Judecat

And as far as St Patrick's being the most valuable propety, how are you measuring value. I can't think of any measure of value where any church would be more valuable than a high rise, or a mansion. Even if you are talking about the just value of the real estate if it were vacant, would not be any higher for the land St Patric's sits on per square foot, than the property next door.

I agree that its pretty questionable. I'd think a skyscraper would be worth more.

But a mansion, seriously? Have you seen the cathedral? Its looks more valuable than any celebrity private home I've ever seen, and most people living in manhattan don't own houses. Even rich people in manhattan generally have luxury apartments in the city and mansions in the suburbs, not mansions in manhattan.

According to this report, the cathedral is estimated at $155 million. But really its difficult to properly appreciate its value since who is going to buy a catholic cathedral and be able to get the same use out of it?

In comparison, Bill Gates' 50k square foot private mansion, one of the most expensive in the world, owned by the richest man in the world, was only assessed at $125 million.

[jimmy101_again]

Originally Posted by Errata

I agree that its pretty questionable. I'd think a skyscraper would be worth more.

But a mansion, seriously? Have you seen the cathedral? Its looks more valuable than any celebrity private home I've ever seen, and most people living in manhattan don't own houses. Even rich people in manhattan generally have luxury apartments in the city and mansions in the suburbs, not mansions in manhattan.

According to this report, the cathedral is estimated at $155 million. But really its difficult to properly appreciate its value since who is going to buy a catholic cathedral and be able to get the same use out of it?

In comparison, Bill Gates' 50k square foot private mansion, one of the most expensive in the world, owned by the richest man in the world, was only assessed at $125 million.

I would think the land Gates' home is on is probably worth a few million, the home itself and other improvements make up the rest of the $125M. For the catherdral I would suspect it is reversed, the land is worth more than the building(s).

Besides, even if you spend $125M on a house and you still have to add a room when the first baby is born.