As part of one of the biggest religion stories of the past few years, Time Magazine said in March 2012, in an entry titled “The Rise Of The Nones,” that, “The fastest-growing religious group in the U.S. is the category of people who say they have no religious affiliation.” In October 2012, the Pew Research Center indicated that “one-fifth of the U.S. public – and a third of adults under 30 – are religiously unaffiliated today, the highest percentages ever in Pew Research Center polling.”
This trend is important and worth taking seriously. But, precisely because of the importance of this sociological change, it is essential that we use a better term.
The truth is that there are no “nones.” Why? Let’s look at three reasons in particular.