Weak Things · Church education data · 1875 to 2026
Seminary to college, counted.
In 1912, seventy students crossed the street from Granite High School for a religion class. More than a century later, more than 900,000 enroll in seminary and institute each year, and the Church’s schools reach students in 180 countries. Here is that growth, measured.
Figures are from Church, Church News and university sources, linked in How we counted. Enrollment years differ by school.
Chapter 1 · 1912 to 2025
From 70 students to 460,000
Seminary began as one released-time class in Salt Lake City. It spread across the Intermountain West in the 1920s, became early-morning seminary in California in 1950, and is now taught worldwide. Toggle the scale to see the early years.
Chapter 2 · 1926 to 2026
A hundred years of institute
J. Wyley Sessions arrived in Moscow, Idaho in 1926 to start the first institute of religion beside the University of Idaho. His first classes, in the fall of 1927, enrolled 57 students. The building was dedicated September 25, 1928. Today there are more than 2,000 institutes.
“Seminary enrollment is at a record level across this Church, both the total number of students and the percentages participating.”Church Educational System, 2025, quoted by the Church Newsroom
Chapter 3 · Fall 2025
The Church’s schools today
Five institutions, from a 150-year-old university in Provo to an online program that started in 2017. BYU–Pathway Worldwide now enrolls more students than any campus. Tap a school for its numbers.
Years each institution has been teaching
Chapter 4 · 46,533 students
Inside BYU–Idaho
BYU–Idaho reports two groups: campus-based students in Rexburg, and online students it serves through BYU–Pathway Worldwide. In fall 2025 the two were nearly even, 46,533 in all.
Chapter 5 · 180 countries
BYU–Pathway and Africa
BYU–Pathway Worldwide was created in 2017 to bring certificates and degrees to students anywhere. More than half of its students are now in Africa. In Nigeria alone, enrollment grew from fewer than 3,000 in 2023 to more than 20,000 in 2026.
Chapter 6 · 65 to 15 schools
Schools where there were none
Where public schools were scarce, the Church opened its own. In 1975 it ran 63 elementary and middle schools and two more in ten countries. As public education grew, most closed. Fifteen remain, in Tonga, Samoa, Fiji, Kiribati and Mexico.
The 15 Church schools today
Chapter 7 · 1875 to 2026
How Church education grew
The pioneers founded academies across the West. Most closed or became public schools; a few grew into the universities the Church runs today.
How we counted
Sources and notes
- Church schools. 1975 from the Ensign, December 1975; 2005 from the Liahona, September 2005; 2012 from Religious Educator, 2012; today’s list from Church Educational System.
- Seminary and institute. BYU–Idaho history is from BYU–Idaho’s Rich Heritage. Early seminary figures are from By Study and Also by Faith, chapter 1 and Church History Topics: Seminaries and Institutes; 1999 from Church News, January 1999; recent figures from Church News, December 2025 and the Church Newsroom 2025 review. Figures described as “more than” are plotted at the stated number.
- Universities. BYU; BYU–Idaho, fall 2025; BYU–Hawaii facts and its 70-year history; Ensign College graduates (Church News). Enrollment counts are headcounts as each school reports them.
- BYU–Pathway. Church Newsroom (85,000+ in 180 countries), BYU–Pathway annual report, Church News on Nigeria and 2026 graduation blocks.
- Founding dates. Ricks College’s 1888 founding as Bannock Stake Academy and the 1974 BYU–Hawaii name are as given in each school’s published history.
- What the numbers can't say. A count shows size, pace and reach. It cannot measure faith, service or a changed heart. For those, read, serve and see.
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