Why Do Nones Have No Religion

Just as groups had formed against the consumption of alcohol, isolated religious groups began to form against everyone but themselves. Called “Utopian Communities”, religious groups were created that challenged society and it’s religions, which is very similar to the Evangelical movement. There were hundreds of these communities, with one of the most popular being the “Shakers”.9 The Shakers believed in the complete equality of male and females, but at the price of being completely celibate. The only way there could be new members was if there were converts or children who would come into a Shaker village. Most of these utopian communities shared an idea of millennialism, which talks about Jesus returning and a new era of the world beginning. The social impact of this is blatantly clear; many more religious groups were being created, rather than a few sects of religion.

According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center as part of a broader Religious Landscape Study, 78 percent of people who do not identify with any religious group were raised in a faith system and then left as adults. Further, about half of those people said that a lack of belief caused them to leave their faith, citing, among other things, "science" and "lack of evidence" as reasons for this skepticism.

Huffington post says, “religious practice and affiliation has greatly declined in the united states in the last 50 years”(Blumberg). Change has happened and it’s not bad but its evolved into something different from the

Another challenge concerning the Millennials is that a lot of these young adults are growing up without attending church. The Barna group calls them the unchurched segment and report that this segment has increased in the last 10 years, from 44% to 52% (5 Reasons). This is a problem because it decreases the chances for new members to join the church. The majority of people that follows a specific religion learned about that religion in early childhood. Students of human behavior believe that “The most significant borrowing occurs in early childhood. Family is thus an important factor…” (Wuthnow 106). If the number of the unchurched segment continues to grow at this pace, in the next few decades, this will continue to be a major concern for church leaders across the Americas. It is a lot harder to try to reach those people that have never attended church or don’t come from a religious background than try to reach those that belong to a church or have been brought up in the faith.

Atheism is disbelief or lack of belief in the existence of God or gods, they reject religion as apart of not only a rejection of ignorance, but also a rejection of their religious family and association of religion itself, says Catherine L. and Caldwell-Harris who are published in the Department of Psychology for Boston University, Lesley College,University of Haifa, and Trinity College. This is a stark contrast to theism, which is the belief in god and is the case for many Americans. This demographic is about 83% of America’s population, according to the most recent census. About 16% of the population, or about 34,169,000 people are of an unaffiliated position, which would include Atheists,

Shown in recent statistics, is that younger people, who are over 15 (as children under this age are usually forced by parents), do not participate in religious activity as much as the older generation – excluding the over 65s group, this is usually because they cannot get to church easily due to ill-health and disabilities. Brierley supports the idea of an older generation by showing that the average age of church goers in 1979 was 37 which increased to 49 in 2005, clearly showing a trend towards an older congregation. Heelas also found that those involved with the New-Age Movements were mainly middle-aged or older; again supporting the recent trend.

As the seismic shocks of the 60’s led to the aftershocks, giving way for the “Nones”, where individuals responded that they do not affiliate with a specific religion or have any religious preferences (David Campbell). Clearly, the amount of parents that do not affiliate with any religion has increased and this may be the case with the parents of this public school. The demographics of this school system are changing, the parents who do not associate with the Catholic Church have increased and so did their influence. We see them exercising their rights as “Nones” challenging the influence of religion in their children’s learning environment. Furthermore, those who consider themselves “Nones” have also reported that they seldom or never attend religious services (“Nones” on the Rise). In a way, the parents who do not attend religious services may have passed this trait along to their kids. That is why the number of kids who do not participate in the religious lectures in the Teutopolis Grade School has risen. To add, more than 6 in 10 religiously unaffiliated voters consider themselves as Democrats (39%) (“Nones” on the Rise). Clearly, they are a significant group when it comes to political activities and

In Chapter 1, Bibby claims there are two reasons for the decline of weekly churchgoers. The first reason was because of a shift in immigration patterns, and secondly was the change of mindset of religion led by the baby boomer generation (p. 14). In the immigration patterns area, Bibby explains that Protestant religion has been losing its so-called immigration pipeline (immigrants from other countries whom are Protestant coming over), therefore number of newcomers has declined. In reference to the baby boomer generation, described in Chapter 2, Bibby explains it simply: “by the 1970s the number of active members who were dying out numbered the people who were taking their places” (p.15). As pipeline was going down, birth rates were too, and then with rise of baby boomers stakes were even higher for decline in religion. Baby boomers in the 60s brought with it four cultural trends: From Dominance to Diversity, From Obligation to Gratification, deference to discernment, and from homes to careers (p. 18-28). All four of these trends helped to significantly reshape religion. The aftermath on a positive note,

In the past couple of decades the rise in non-denominational churches has been increasing greatly and are said to be the second largest group of Protestants (Moore, 2011). It is said that most that break off and become apart of this fast growing belief come from a protestant upbringing. The study shows that more people are determining on where to worship by how they like the nursery, if the worship music is good, is it close to home, rather than I am a Catholic I need to go to a Catholic Church. As of 2010, four percent of Americans fall into this non-denominational group (Thumma, 2010).

The decline in religion across America is most likely related to the increase inIndividualism, among many Americans in the 21st century. “The decline in religions practice has gone down 29% from the Silent generation to the younger Millennial” (Decline of mainline Protestantism and Catholicism). Many argue that culture influences, portioning to college and other environments, would be the greatest factor in the big question as to why Americas on a religious decline. However Individualism seems to be the greatest contributing factor. Individualism highlights selfish motives, only caring about ones self, and laziness. All things that religious believes takes away from a individual.

According to data from the Pew Research Center, Americans are becoming less religious, but, simultaneously, more spiritual. Often described as “nones,” these individuals have rejected the trappings of institutional religion, yet still feel “a deep sense of spiritual peace and well-being as well as a deep sense of wonder about the universe.”

Talking of the number of the “unchurched” people in Northern America alone, there has been an increase of compared to the 15 percent increase in the general population. Large churches which used to be filled with multitudes of followers in the 1950s currently have a small fraction of their initial capacity.

Other critics of the secularisation thesis are Postmodernists, who argue that religious beliefs have not declined, they have simply changed to adapt to modern society. Davie sees religion as taking a privatised form, and although churchgoing has declined, it does not reflect the religious beliefs, as she believes we now have people believing without belonging, where people hold religious beliefs but do not attend church. Davie believes that believing without belonging is a result of change in commitment regarding religion as attendance is now a matter of choice, rather than compulsory, people are adapting religion to suit them, Davie notes that there has been a shift towards vicarious religion, in which people practise religion from a second hand glance, and despite low levels of attendance, many people still use the church for religious rituals such as weddings and baptisms. Therefore these theories suggest that Britain isn’t becoming a secular society, religion is

Putnam and Campbell’s “America Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us” does a better job of foreshadowing the future religious landscape in the United States. The two authors use the concept of ‘shocks, aftershocks, and earthquakes’ in order to convey religious turbulence in the United States. The earthquake of the 1960s was the most significant indication of change in which there was a steep decline in religious observance (Putnam and Campbell, 97). The 1960s was a transitional time for the United States as the Civil Rights Movement, immigration reform, and the sexual revolution dominated American culture. These events displaced religion from the lives of Americans and thus became a clarion call for the transition away

As a student of religion I have learnt that religion is an indispensable part of human life. History shows that every religion, it may be revealed or not, has risen in the crucial moment of the human history. According to the Semitic tradition human history has began with Adam and Eve, first prophet in Abrahamic tradition. In Indian tradition, though God is omnipresent but he directly intervened into this world, what we called Avatara, to make a clear distinction between right and wrong. In primitive society also people’s lives were highly motivated with religious affiliation.