08/04/2026
Jacinda Ardern was 25 years old, raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the small farming town of Morrinsville, New Zealand, when she found herself living in an Auckland flat with three gay men. She continued attending the Mormon church, but the contrast between the faith she had grown up in and the people she cared about became increasingly difficult to reconcile.
Years later, Ardern said she realized she was “either doing a disservice to the church or my friends,” because she could not reconcile a religion that did not fully accept LGBTQ people with the kindness and humanity she saw in those closest to her. In 2005, she left the LDS Church and has identified as agnostic ever since.
Jacinda Ardern was 25 years old, raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the small farming town of Morrinsville, New Zealand, when she found herself living in an Auckland flat with three gay men. She continued attending the Mormon church, but the contrast between the faith she had grown up in and the people she cared about became increasingly difficult to reconcile.
Years later, Ardern said she realized she was “either doing a disservice to the church or my friends,” because she could not reconcile a religion that did not fully accept LGBTQ people with the kindness and humanity she saw in those closest to her. In 2005, she left the LDS Church and has identified as agnostic ever since. Although she has spoken positively about the values of service she learned growing up Mormon, she has said the Church’s teachings on LGBTQ people ultimately became impossible for her to accept.
Ardern became New Zealand’s prime minister and many of the policies that defined her government reflected the convictions she says were shaped during that period of her life.
In 2018, Ardern became the first sitting New Zealand prime minister to participate in Auckland’s Pride Parade, cutting the ceremonial ribbon to open the event.
Her government later passed the Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Act, banning conversion practices. The law created criminal penalties of up to five years in prison when conversion practices cause serious harm. Parliament approved the measure by a vote of 112-8, with every vote against coming from members of the ACT Party.
Her government also enacted changes to New Zealand’s Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act, allowing transgender and non-binary New Zealanders born in the country to update the s*x marker on their birth certificate through a statutory declaration rather than a Family Court process. The legislation passed Parliament unanimously without a single vote in opposition.
Despite leaving the LDS Church more than two decades ago, Ardern has not described her departure as the result of a dispute with Church leaders, and while serving as prime minister she met cordially with former Church President Russell M. Nelson during his 2019 visit to New Zealand.
Arden has consistently described her decisions as a matter of conscience, saying she could no longer reconcile the Church’s position on LGBTQ people with her own beliefs.
