This morning it was reported that the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life released their latest report on religious affiliation and trends in America. It is a disturbing report for anyone in ministry, not to mention any Christian who cares about the spiritual direction of their community. You can download the full report here.
Bottom line: the religious affiliation category “None”—those who don’t have any religious affiliation, whether atheist, agnostic, or the growing spiritual-but-not-religious—account for 1 in 5 adults in America. I thought I would highlight several interesting and important findings in the report below:
In the last 5 years the category “None” has increased from 15% to 19%
This includes 13 million self-described atheists and agnostics (nearly 6% of the U.S. public) and nearly 33 million people with no religious affiliation (14%).
Nones are the third largest religious group in America—following Protestants (73%) and Catholics (22%)
This is a big one: 88% of these Nones are not actively seeking to join a church or religious group. Read that one again!
White Evangelicals now equal the number of Nones (19%)
“One important factor behind the growth of the religiously unaffiliated is generational replacement, the gradual supplanting of older generations by newer ones.”
Nearly 1 in 3 young adults (18-30) are Nones, identifying with nothing in particular; 34% of Younger Millennials (18-24) are Nones.
Nones by Age:
18-29 (Millennials) —32%
30-49 (Gen Xers)—21%
50-64 (Baby Boomers)—15%
65+ (Silent Gen)—9%
“The continued growth of the religiously unaffiliated is one of several indicators suggesting that the U.S. public gradually may be growing less religious.”
While 58% of general public say religion is very important to their lives, 29% of adults say they seldom or never attend religious services. 45% of religiously affiliated attend weekly religious services.
Men (23%) are more disaffiliated (part of the Nones) than Women (17%). Whites (20%) more than Black (15%) or Hispanic (16%). Not Married (24%) more than Married (14%). College educated (21%) more than little or no college education (19%). Predictably, the Northeast (21%) and West (26%) are more None than Midwest (19%) and South (15%).
Regarding Belief in God or universal Spirit: among Religiously Affiliated, 77% are absolutely certain while 20% are less certain but still believe. Surprisingly, among Nones, 30% are certain in their belief in God and 38% believe, but are uncertain. Perhaps this is why, among this group, 37% consider themselves to by spiritual but not religious
And finally, regarding views of religious institutions: Among the Nones, 70% view religious organizations as too concerned with money and power; 67% say they focus too much on rules; and 67% believe they are too involved in politics.
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There are two big numbers I’m wrestling with this morning: 1 in 3 young adults are None; 88% of Nones are not seeking to join a church (or other religious group).
In 2007 Pew released a similar report, which I blogged about back then. In the last 5 years, unaffiliation for young adults has increased 4%, Nones has increased 1%, and agnosticism/atheism has increased roughly 7%. I realize that nearly every generation has said “the church is one generation away from dying…” but these numbers seem distinctly different than in the past—a real and present trend among the next generation seems to be developing…
Any thoughts on these numbers? Anything you’re struck by here or in the report? Any response?
It's so funny that I found this site when I googled whose was the quote, "We should live with a Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other." I planned on using that quote in a post today. Of course I saw this post, and as I just addressed a similar report yesturday. Thanks for the post!
You might be interested in the mp3 file I posted yesturday where International Evangelist and Apologist Ravi Zacharias address the increase in the religiously "none's." You can hear it at http://4allwhothirst.wordpress.com under October 10: "Is America Abandoning God?"
Thanks again for your post!