Religious 'Nones' are now the largest single group in the U.S. : NPR
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January 24, 202410:00 AM ET
Jason DeRose
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Religiously unaffiliated people now make up 28% of U.S. adults, according to a new study from Pew Research. That's a larger cohort than Catholics or evangelical Protestants.
Religiously unaffiliated people now make up 28% of U.S. adults, according to a new study from Pew Research. That's a larger cohort than Catholics or evangelical Protestants.
When Americans are asked to check a box indicating their religious affiliation, 28% now check 'none.'
A new study from Pew Research finds that the religiously unaffiliated - a group comprised of atheists, agnostic and those who say their religion is "nothing in particular" - is now the largest cohort in the U.S. They're more prevalent among American adults than Catholics (23%) or evangelical Protestants (24%).
Back in 2007, Nones made up just 16% of Americans, but Pew's new survey of more than 3,300 U.S. adults shows that number has now risen dramatically.
Researchers refer to this group as the "Nones."
Pew asked respondents what - if anything - they believe. The research organization found that Nones are not a uniform group.
Most Nones believe in God or another higher power, but very few attend any kind of religious service.
They aren't all anti-religious. Most Nones say religion does some harm, but many also think it does some good. Most have more positive views of science than those who are religiously affiliated; however, they reject the idea that science can explain everything.
Nones could prove to be an important political group
Gregory Smith at Pew was the lead researcher on the study, titled "Religious 'Nones' in America: Who They Are and What They Believe."
He says the growth of Nones could affect American public life.
"We know politically for example," Smith says, "that religious Nones are very distinctive. They are among the most strongly and consistently liberal and Democratic constituencies in the United States."
And that could change electoral politics in the coming decades.
The political power of white Evangelicals has been well-reported in recent decades, but their numbers are shrinking while the number of the more liberal Nones is on the rise.
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However, Smith points out that Nones are also less civically engaged than those who identify with a religion - they're less likely to vote. So, while they identify as Democrats, getting them to the polls on election day may prove to be a challenge.
Within the Nones, however, atheists and agnostics are more likely to be politically and civically engaged, whereas those who responded that their religion is 'nothing in particular' are far less likely to vote.
Pew also found that, overall, Nones are less likely to volunteer in their local communities than religiously affiliated adults.
Logic and avoiding harm help moral decision making
Beyond their numbers and their behaviors, Pew also asked respondents what they actually believe.
The survey found Nones are less satisfied with their local communities and less satisfied with their social lives than religious people.
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While many people of faith say they rely on scripture, tradition and the guidance of religious leaders to make moral decisions, Pew found that Nones say they're guided by logic or reason when making moral decisions.
"And huge numbers say the desire to avoid hurting other people factors prominently in how they think about right and wrong," says Smith.
People of faith also say they use logic and the avoidance of harm to make decisions, but those factors are in concert with religious tradition and scripture.
Nones tend to be young, white and male
Demographically, Nones also stand out from the religiously affiliated.
Nones are young. 69% are under the age of fifty.
They're also less racially diverse. 63% of Nones are white.
Similar studies by Pew and other groups such as the Public Religion Research Institute have found that people of color are far more likely to say religion is important in their lives.
But Smith says to keep in mind that the Nones are comprised of three distinct groups - atheists, agnostics and those who describe themselves as 'nothing in particular.'
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Nones who describe themselves are atheist or agnostic are far more likely to be white.
"People who describe their religion as 'nothing in particular' are more likely," says Smith, "to be Black or Hispanic or Asian."
At first glance, Nones appear to be evenly divided be gender. But digging deeper into the data shows that men are significantly more likely to say they're atheist or agnostic whereas women are more likely to describe their religion as 'nothing in particular.'
Smith says that's consistent with other research as well, which shows, "women tend to be more religious on average than men."
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A snapshot of present day sociology. What this signals for the future no one can say with any accuracy, but it does point to some interesting trends.
I do believe this has been happening in Europe for quite some time and longer than here.
It's a really slow process in Europe. Nones there only account for about 17% of the population while Catholics make up over 40%.
I didnt think Catholics were still that high but considering Poland, Italy, and France are very Catholic countries.
I think, tho, that they may identify as Catholics but are more secular
I googled for a list of countries where Christianity is a minority religion. England and Wales have dropped to where less than half of the population identifies as Christian. I suspect that the numbers are still inflated due to a survey where people said they were Christian because they believed it made them "good" people, but they really did not believe in the Christian religion.
Of course, the Christian religious hierarchy in England is fighting back to retain their authority to rule the lives of the masses so we will see how they fight to enact laws that support their "free speech" and suppress the free speech of non-Christians through possibly blasphemy laws or forcing Christianity on criminals in/out of prison or even the homeless have to endure a sermon to be fed by a "Christian" organization similar to what is happening in the United States since Bush funneled untold hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollar to churches with no oversight via executive action in 2004. Without this money, there would be vastly fewer churches in the US today because there are vastly fewer people attending churches so the churches have little support outside of our federal government. The ACLU gave token resistance to the executive order and the news media does not cover how many hundreds of millions of dollars are given to churches or what it is used for in the US.
Fairly recent article about the numbers in England and Wales. (2021 survey)
Some quick info at Wikipedia. Note: Over two-thirds of about 8 billion people are NOT Christian . And even among the Christian sects, they are so divided that other than the Roman Catholic Church, their numbers are very insignificant in comparison to world population.
And clarification on how the numbers of Christians are calculated. Seems evident that the numbers are inflated.
hmmmm... take note populist apologists.
nice to finally see the curtain coming down on the longest running tax scam and money laundering operation in secular america ...
To each their own.
People being religious doesnt bother me at all, as long as they dont try and force it on other people.
that disqualifies most of the brainless thumpers that support trump...
I agree with you. What I really don't like is "showy" displays of people's faith. There's a meme with Maggie Smith that says Religion is like Penises. It's fine to have one but one shouldn't take it out and show it to the world. (or something like that)
and wave it other people's faces.
I totally agree with Maggie Smith.
That's how it goes. Thanks
no wonder the thumpers are growing increasingly militant in imposing their dogma upon the secular masses...
believe in our god of love and forgiveness, or else!