Religion

The Nones: Where They Came From, Who They Are, and Where They Are Going

The Nones: Where They Came From, Who They Are, and Where They Are Going

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  • Create Date：2021-04-24 14:51:11
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：Ryan P. Burge
  • ISBN：1506465854
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Summary

In The Nones: Where They Came From， Who They Are， and Where They Are Going， Ryan P。 Burge details a comprehensive picture of an increasingly significant group--Americans who say they have no religious affiliation。

The growth of the nones in American society has been dramatic。 In 1972， just 5 percent of Americans claimed "no religion" on the General Social Survey。 In 2018， that number rose to 23。7 percent， making the nones as numerous as both evangelical Protestants and Roman Catholics。 Every indication is that the nones will be the largest religious group in the United States in the next decade。

Burge illustrates his precise but accessible descriptions with charts and graphs drawn from over a dozen carefully curated datasets， some tracking changes in American religion over a long period of time， others large enough to allow a statistical deep dive on subgroups such as atheists and agnostics。 Burge also draws on data that tracks how individuals move in and out of religion over time， helping readers understand what type of people become nones and what factors lead an individual to return to religion。

The Nones gives readers a nuanced， accurate， and meaningful picture of the growing number of Americans who say they have no religious affiliation。 Burge explains how this rise happened， who the nones are， and what they mean for the future of American religion。

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Reviews

Greg Mamula ，

One of the most helpful distillation and interpretation of the massive amount of social， religious， and political data I’ve ever read。 A very helpful resource。

Dan ，

The book was not exactly what I thought it was going to be。 I thought I was picking up a popular social science study for a general audience， but this turned out to be aimed at Christian ministers and leaders。 Well， it says so on the back cover if you look really hard。The subject matter is riveting。 The data is presented in a clear and logical fashion。 The book is a quick read。 The book feels a little hastily written and there are some clear errors， eg。 Regarding life stages of baby boomers。 A c The book was not exactly what I thought it was going to be。 I thought I was picking up a popular social science study for a general audience， but this turned out to be aimed at Christian ministers and leaders。 Well， it says so on the back cover if you look really hard。The subject matter is riveting。 The data is presented in a clear and logical fashion。 The book is a quick read。 The book feels a little hastily written and there are some clear errors， eg。 Regarding life stages of baby boomers。 A couple of sources are heavily utilized and the author didn’t seem to have done any primary interview or survey work。 A primary flaw in the book is that the author presents fact after fact pointing to relentlessly increasing secularization of America， yet draws exactly the opposite conclusion that “we will never see a time where huge majorities of Americans are unchurched。” Really？ Never？ Just reading the data presented and not having a dog in the fight， the reader is compelled to deduce just the reverse。The second issue with the book is that it does not really deliver on creating any kind of deeper understanding of who the Nones really are。 We learn that atheists are mostly educated， high-earning males who listen to Rush （oops， he left that one out） but that’s kind of it。 What kind of outlook on life do atheists and agnostics have？ Are they happier or less happy than Christians？ How do they socialize？ Are their moral codes substantially different from those of， say Hindus or Mormons？ All we learn is that you should probably not try to convert an atheist because statistically that’s not going to work out， but the “nothing in particulars” might provide a lucrative “harvest for new religious converts。” Seems a little one-dimensional to characterize a quarter of the US population primarily based on whether they are good conversion material， no？ 。。。more

Jeremy ，

Helpful read！

Kyle Haack ，

Clarifying picture of the Nones with some hopeful steps forward。

Johnathan ，

The "nones" （those who mark none on religious classification surveys） are more complex and less monolithic than many assume， primarily consisting of athiest， agnostics， and "nothing in particular。" This book explores the statistics and makes sense of the hodgepodge of easily available but hardly accessible statistics。 Burge does a fantastic job of explaining these statistics in an understandable way， breaking them down by what they mean， what they don't mean， and what they could mean。 If you are The "nones" （those who mark none on religious classification surveys） are more complex and less monolithic than many assume， primarily consisting of athiest， agnostics， and "nothing in particular。" This book explores the statistics and makes sense of the hodgepodge of easily available but hardly accessible statistics。 Burge does a fantastic job of explaining these statistics in an understandable way， breaking them down by what they mean， what they don't mean， and what they could mean。 If you are looking for an action plan ，steps to take， or ideas on how to make a difference， or even blind optimism - you will find this lacking。 And， yes， the gist of the book could be summarized in a short blog post。 Nevertheless， for a truly comprehensive understanding of the religious landscape of America， this book hits the nail on the head。 For the most part， Burge does not make assumptions or assertions。 In the rare instance he does， he is clear that it is his observation or hypothesis that cannot be necessarily supported as factual。 This honesty is refreshing。 The primary take away for me: nones （specifically "nothing in particular's"） are numerically increasing rapidly， will continue to do so， but most of them are receptive to evangelization。 Worth reading and much easier to read than one would think， given the heavy statistical analysis。 。。。more

Hannah ，

Ryan Burge explains who the religious nones are （he breaks the group down into atheists， agnostics， and nothing-in-particulars） and why they are growing in the USA。 This book is full of graphs and data from the GSS and CCES surveys。 Despite the emphasis on numbers， this book is readable。 Ryan explains the data thoroughly and clearly。 He wrote the book primarily for American Christians who want to understand the decline of the religiously affiliated in the country， and Ryan occasionally shares hi Ryan Burge explains who the religious nones are （he breaks the group down into atheists， agnostics， and nothing-in-particulars） and why they are growing in the USA。 This book is full of graphs and data from the GSS and CCES surveys。 Despite the emphasis on numbers， this book is readable。 Ryan explains the data thoroughly and clearly。 He wrote the book primarily for American Christians who want to understand the decline of the religiously affiliated in the country， and Ryan occasionally shares his experiences as both a political scientist and a mainline pastor。 However， due to its emphasis on social science research rather than on religious anecdotes， anybody who is interested in understanding changes in religion would appreciate this book。 。。。more

George P。 ，

America’s religious landscape is changing。The General Social Survey （GSS）， sorts Americans into seven religious traditions （RELTRAD）: evangelicals， mainline Protestants， Black Protestants， Catholics， Jews， other faith traditions， and nones。 Between 1972 and 2018， only two of the RELTRAD categories grew: others， from 3。9% to 6。2%， and nones， from 5。1% to 23。7%。 The Cooperative Congressional Election Survey （CCES）， which has a larger sample size than GSS， puts the nones’ number higher at 31。3%。The America’s religious landscape is changing。The General Social Survey （GSS）， sorts Americans into seven religious traditions （RELTRAD）: evangelicals， mainline Protestants， Black Protestants， Catholics， Jews， other faith traditions， and nones。 Between 1972 and 2018， only two of the RELTRAD categories grew: others， from 3。9% to 6。2%， and nones， from 5。1% to 23。7%。 The Cooperative Congressional Election Survey （CCES）， which has a larger sample size than GSS， puts the nones’ number higher at 31。3%。The five other RELTRAD categories declined。 In 1972， evangelicals accounted for 17% of the population， rising to 29。9% in 1993， but falling to 21。6% in 2018。 Mainline Protestants declined dramatically from 27。9% of the population in 1972 to 9。9% in 2018。 Black Protestants and Catholics declined more incrementally， from 9。0% to 6。2% and from 27。3% to 23。2%， respectively。 The percentage of Jews also fell， from 3% to 1。7%。The big picture of America’s changing religious landscape， then， is the rise of religious disaffiliation and the decline of Christian affiliation in the U。S。 population。Ryan P。 Burge adds considerable detail to this big picture in his new book， The Nones。 He is an assistant professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University and an American Baptist Church pastor。As a political scientist， he describes how religious affiliation is measured （chapter 1）， explains why religious disaffiliation is rising （chapter 2）， details the nones’ demographic characteristics （chapter 3）， and demonstrates the diversity of beliefs and life experiences among the nones themselves （chapter 4）。As a Baptist minister， Burge concludes his book with two practical suggestions for Christian churches that want to effectively minister to nones （chapter 5）。The first is to listen better。 Unfortunately， too many churches put nones in a box， both ideologically and methodologically。 The problem with these boxes， Burge writes， is that “to belittle， minimize， or try to explain away the stories of those who walked away or never connected to a church home is to fail to understand that not everyone comes to faith in the same way we did， and people do not stay （or leave， or stay away） for the same reasons we do either。”For example， churches should not assume that the religiously disaffiliated are hostile to Christian faith。 The largest group of nones are not people who claim the labels “atheist” or “agnostic，” but people who say their religious preference is “nothing in particular。” As Burge explains in chapter 4， “The data indicate that one in six of them will move back toward a Christian tradition over a four-year period。”If you want to evangelize the nones strategically， then， don’t focus your efforts on atheists and agnostics。 Instead， focus on the nothings-in-particular because they’re persuadable。 You’ll only know that if you listen to them， however。Burge’s second suggestion is to be less partisan。 Religious disaffiliation has many causes， but as Burge demonstrates in chapter 2， the increasingly partisan affiliation of white Protestants offers “the best and clearest explanation for the rapid rate of religious disaffiliation。” To state the matter simplistically， if Christianity is Republican， Democrats will not be Christians。 （The same is true in reverse， too， of course。）Burge does not advise pastors and other church leaders to remain silent on the pressing issues of the day， however。 “If pastors don’t give congregations guidance on how to think about politics， then they will get it from somewhere else，” he warns。 Instead， he offers this counsel: “speak Truth to them。 Preach sound biblical doctrine that cuts across the political spectrum。”He cites the doctrine of the image of God （imago Dei） as an example of a spectrum-cutting doctrine: “It teaches that neglecting the poor is a violation of imago Dei， and it also teaches us that we should value the lives of the unborn。” The problem with partisan Christianity， it seems， is that it fails to apply gospel values across the entire range of issues American society faces。Religious disaffiliation shows no signs of stopping， and it is especially prevalent among younger generations。 Consequently， I recommend The Nones to pastors and other church leaders who are trying to make sense of America’s increasingly secular character。 As Burge puts it， nones are “the largest mission field in the United States today。”Book ReviewedRyan P。 Burge， The Nones: Where They Came From， Who They Are， and Where They Are Going （Minneapolis， MN: Fortress， Press， 2021）。P。S。 If you like my review， please click “Helpful” on my Amazon review page。P。P。S。 I reviewed this book for InfluenceMagazine。com。 It appears here by permission。 。。。more

Reference

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