Thursday Thinking - Nones on the Rise

I've been hearing a lot of buzz on the recent report from the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion and Public Life. According to the report, the number of "nones" in America, those Americans who claim no religious affiliation, has reached 20%. Not surprisingly, the fastest growing number of "nones" is among younger people, while the smallest group of "nones" is comprised older Americans.

You can read the full report here, but I'll post a few excerpts and charts below to pique your curiosity. I'm also embedding a news commentary from NPR's All Things Considered.

I'm not sure what to think about the report. Does it indicate deepening secularization of our culture? Does is indicate the breakdown of institutions and institutional loyalty? Does it indicate less interest in religion? Does less affiliation mean less belief? Is it simply easier today to admit doubt? Is specific religious affiliation less desirable? Are more people simply being more honest? Have religious institutions become less necessary and less relevant? Does this correlate with the ways people are similarly shying away from commitment to other categorical and institutional affiliations -- political parties, brand loyalties, gender classifications, racial and ethnic identification, service clubs, labor unions, etc?

I'm actually surprised that four out of five Americans still do self-identify a religious affiliation. I would identify myself as a Christian, but I wouldn't identify with an institutional label or subset. That's not to say I wouldn't get pushed into a category if I was one of the people surveyed. It's easier for me to say what I'm not than what I am. Are you religiously affiliated? How would identify yourself?

What are your thoughts? Please leave your comments at:
http://alteredfaces.blogspot.com

What follows are excerpts and charts from the report:

The decline is concentrated among white Protestants, both evangelical and mainline. Currently, 19% of U.S. adults identify themselves as white, born-again or evangelical Protestants, down slightly from 21% in 2007. And 15% of adults describe themselves as white Protestants but say they are not born-again or evangelical Christians, down from 18% in 2007. There has been no change in minority Protestants’ share of the population over the past five years.
 

Generation Xers and Baby Boomers also have become more religiously unaffiliated in recent years. In 2012, 21% of Gen Xers and 15% of Baby Boomers describe themselves as religiously unaffiliated, up slightly (but by statistically significant margins) from 18% and 12%, respectively, since 2007. The trend lines for earlier generations are essentially flat. Not only are young adults less likely to be affiliated than their elders, but the GSS shows that the percentage of Americans who were raised without an affiliation has been rising gradually, from about 3% in the early 1970s to about 8% in the past decade. However, the overwhelming majority of the “nones” were brought up in a religious tradition. The new Pew Research Center/Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly survey finds that about three-quarters of unaffiliated adults were raised with some affiliation (74%).

Commentary from NPR's All Things Considered: