Quick, a little free-association test: When I say “Utah,” what do you think? Most people, unsurprisingly, respond “Mormon.” And Mormonism is inescapable for anyone traveling around Utah with eyes even half-open. Just as sensitive travelers would not denigrate Catholicism in Ireland or Buddhism in Thailand, travelers in Utah would do well to keep an open mind about Utah’s predominant religion.

Remember that the church’s proper title is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and that members prefer to be called “Latter-day Saints,” “Saints” (usually this term is just used among church members), or “LDS.” While calling someone a Mormon isn’t wrong, it’s not quite as respectful.

The religion is based in part on the Book of Mormon, the name given to a text derived from a set of “golden plates” found by Joseph Smith in 1827 in western New York. Smith claimed to have been led by an angel to the plates, which were covered with a text written in “reformed Egyptian.” A farmer by upbringing, Smith translated the plates and published an English-language version of the Book of Mormon in 1830.

The Book of Mormon tells the story of the lost tribes of Israel, which, according to Mormon teachings, migrated to North America and became the ancestors of today’s Native Americans. According to the Book of Mormon, Jesus also journeyed to North America, and the book includes teachings and prophecies that Christ supposedly gave to the ancient Native Americans.

Most people know that LDS members are clean-living, family people who eschew alcohol, tobacco, and stimulants, including caffeine. This can make it a little tough for visitors to feed their own vices (and indeed, it may make what formerly seemed like a benign habit feel a little more sinister).

But Utah has loosened up a lot in the past few years, largely thanks to hosting the 2002 Winter Olympics, and it’s really not too hard to find a place to have a beer with dinner, though you may have to make a special request. Towns near the national parks are particularly used to hosting non-Saints and attach virtually no stigma to waking up with a cup of coffee or settling down with a glass of wine.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is by far the dominant religion in Utah; about 65 percent of the population belongs to the church. Most major Christian denominations are represented in mid-sized towns, and in Salt Lake City there are small Jewish and Islamic congregations as well.