This is a very serious issue and it must be addressed. Caffeine is against God’s will and against my values and my religion. I am willing to go to war to defend these things.

-Karen Tingsley, founder of MACC

In a time of great division among religions and sects that seemed monolithic, the question of whether or not caffeine should be consumed by the faithful has brought many members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to their breaking point.

Karen Tingsley decided to take action, forming an organization called Mormons Against Caffeine Consumption, or MACC, back in October 2016. She told The Alternate Universe that her decision to become an activist came while she was listening to the Church’s Semi-Annual General Conference and one of the leaders admitted to drinking diet soda. “I stopped cutting carrots, put my knife down, and blurted out: ‘Soda is of the devil, and so is caffeine!'”

Over the next three years, Tingsley led a movement calling for strict enforcement of the Word of Wisdom, specifically targeting caffeinated sodas. She and her supporters suffered a major loss in September 2017 when Brigham Young University ended its six-decade-long ban on selling caffeinated soft drinks on campus. MACC released a statement that same day:

It saddens us to watch BYU succumb to the soda agenda. The carbonization and caffeination of our children needs to end. That is what Joseph Smith fought for.

MACC official statement, released 21 Sep 2017

Talks began in earnest in early 2018 of a more active push against caffeine. Petitions were signed and sent to the Church Office Building in Salt Lake City. Whole neighborhoods along the Wasatch Front were canvassed by MACC members, who began wearing engraved name tags.

Finally, on January 8, 2020, MACC announced that effective on February 1, they are making a formal break with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints due to the “irreconcilable” differences in opinion between MACC leadership and the Church. MACC reached 50,000 members last November, and membership is expected only to increase following the split next month. They also intend to publish an updated version of the Word of Wisdom and appoint Tingsley as Grand Protector.

When asked about the legitimacy of what has become called “The Caffeine Schism”, Tingsley stated: “I’m disappointed that the Church and its members allow themselves to be pushed around by soda companies, but this split had to happen, and I’m sure that we are on the right track.”

No word yet on a response from Church officials.