![]() ![]() Not surprisingly, the consequences of excessive consumption of both sugar and caffeine have been well documented, including a strong association between caffeinated beverage consumption in adolescents and future substance use. Thus, caffeinated soda combines the addictive substances of sugar and caffeine, both of which affect neurocognitive function and cause physical side effects, although the concept of sugar addiction remains controversial. Caffeinated soda refers to soft drinks containing caffeine as well as sweeteners and artificial flavorings. "I think this is perhaps one more step, one more move in this larger process of increasing comfort with the world that has characterized Mormonism for the last 20 years," Bowman added.Soft drinks are commonly consumed even by children, and a vast majority of sodas contain caffeine. BYU's decision to start selling caffeinated drinks is part of that, along with things like recent dress code changes and the " I'm a Mormon" ad campaign. "They felt that Mormons had become too assimilated into American culture."īut the pendulum is now swinging the other way, with more (especially younger) Mormons yearning to assimilate more into the mainstream, not fewer, Bowman said. "The interest of retrenchment era Mormonism is to set Mormons apart again," he added. The idea was to keep Mormonism distinct from the mainstream. McConkie, who advocated for a "retrenchment" within the faith that produced a variety of implied rules such as avoiding caffeine and not using playing cards, according to Matt Bowman, a Mormon and history professor at Henderson State University in Arkansas. Variations of this attitude within Mormonism were bolstered in part by some church leaders, such as Bruce R. "I distinctly remember my first Coke, and it was deliciously rebellious."Īs a child, this reporter - who is Mormon and whose first caffeinated soda was a Pepsi in sixth grade - was also left with the distinct impression that people who avoided caffeinated soda were definitely more righteous than those who partook. "My mom wouldn’t let us drink Coke growing up," Evans said. It's unknown how many Mormons actually avoid caffeine, but Evans said everyone was familiar with the idea. Though the church clarified in 2012 that caffeine was not prohibited, the belief has persisted. "So this led to a small but vocal group banning caffeinated drinks." "Their answer: caffeine, of course," Evans said. The Word of Wisdom doesn't mention anything about caffeine, but Steve Evans, founder of the Mormon blog By Common Consent, told BuzzFeed News that members of the church are "naturally inquisitive, and some have engaged in their own sort of rabbinical analysis of why no coffee or tea." Mormon dietary restrictions trace their origins to Scripture and what's called the "Word of Wisdom," which the faithful interpret to prohibit things like coffee, tea, and alcohol. ![]() The decision is the latest move from a church inching further into the mainstream. While Thursday's announcement was celebrated (with a multitude of memes) across much of Mormondom, it represents the end of an era for the school, and for Mormons more broadly, some of whom had been avoiding caffeine on religious grounds. The Provo, Utah, school is run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, better known as the Mormon church, and hadn't previously sold caffeinated drinks since the 1950s. ![]() The biggest Mormon church–owned university in the world - a place that bans beards and wins the title "stone cold sober" school literally every year - is about to get a bit more lit.īrigham Young University stunned students Thursday when it announced that it would begin selling caffeinated drinks. ![]()
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