Deborah Whitehead, associate professor of religious studies, explores connections between entrepreneurship, gender and religion among Mormons

It’s no accident that multi-level-marketing schemes are widely adopted in Mormon communities, which are tight-knit, entrepreneurial and well-trained, through missionary work, for sales.

That is the conclusion of Deborah Whitehead, associate professor of religious studies at the University of Colorado Boulder, who has written an article recently published in the journal Mormon Studies Review that traces the links between “startup culture, multi-level marketing, Mormonism and entrepreneurship. 

While Whitehead cites LuLaRoe, a billion-dollar multi-level marketing (or MLM) company launched in 2013 as a primary example of this business model, she also focuses on a general examination of the connections between Latter Day Saints (LDS) theology and the “self-starter” mindset closely associated with the multi-level-marketing business model.

The Federal Trade Commission defines multi-level marketing as “businesses that involve selling products to family and friends and recruiting other people to do the same.” With Utah’s high concentration of MLMs making it the “unofficial world capital of multi-level marketing,” Whitehead connects LDS church culture and self-reliance. 

“Missionary training translates well into direct sales,” Whitehead writes, noting that missionaries perform door-to-door “sales” pitches and can withstand rejection. She also notes that LDS theology doesn’t demonize social media when used as a tool for “spreading the ‘good news’ about a product.”

“LDS communities tend to be tight-knit and close, so when somebody is passionate about a product, it will be easier to go into these circles and sell it,” Whitehead says. “This also applies to other kinds of media messaging or getting other people involved in your business.”

“One thing I found interesting about the women in LuLaRoe is that many wanted things not just for themselves, but also for their families. They wanted to be entrepreneurs, because they consider it part of their divinely ordained roles as wives and mothers to care for their children, and operating a business from your home enables them to achieve their financial goals while still being a stay-at-home mom,” Whitehead says, underscoring the link between theology, gender and entrepreneurship.

As an example, Whitehead details a moment from the childhood of DeAnne Stidham, one of the founders of LuLaRoe, in which Stidham’s mother returned from work and began throwing cash to her children while exclaiming, “Mom did this for you!” 

This episode could be seen as both fulfilling these “divine roles,” but also a way to “justify a mother’s absence from her children while working outside of the home,” Whitehead writes, noting that remote MLM work is marketed as a solution to this problem. 

While LuLaRoe showcased a particularly negative side of the monetization of religious values and entrepreneurship, Whitehead says it can be a positive thing, especially in reference to blogging: “Mormon women have used blogging to showcase their creative and practical skills, and many blogs about fashion, sewing, cooking and even resourceful food storage methods have become hugely popular and lucrative.”

“While there can be a comfortable partnership between Mormonism and capitalism—it is not the only way to interpret these situations,” Whitehead says. “From another perspective, when understood correctly, this theology is supposed to keep capitalism in check—you work hard for yourself and your family, but you don’t exploit other people.”

Whitehead’s interest in religious culture in the United States goes beyond startups and MLMs: “Over the last 12 years, I have developed a particular interest in religion, media and culture, and within that broad area I focus mainly on present-day U.S. religion and representations of gender,” Whitehead says.

“I have written pieces on evangelical women and mommy blogging, emergency food storage, and various other intersections of religion, gender and digital media.” 

Meantime, Whitehead is working on another article about LuLaRoe, this time focusing on “the corporate feminism that is a large part of the company's rhetoric.” She is also working on a book about evangelical Christians and digital media, which is under contract with Routledge.