A new study claims that American "nones" are increasing, even overtaking Catholics as the 2nd largest religious group in the survey.
The study was conducted by the Pew Research Center and was published on Jan. 24. The research called "National Public Opinion Reference Survey" is conducted by the American think tank annually.
In its latest one, Pew revealed that around 28% of American adults now consider themselves as nones. This is higher than the surveyed Catholics, which are only 20%.
Meanwhile, American Protestants take the place as the largest religious group in the Pew study.
New Study Claims American 'Nones' are Increasing
The Pew Research Center said that nones are Americans whose religion is called "nothing in particular." They are quite different from atheists and agnostics, but some agnostics and atheists consider themselves as nones.
According to Yahoo News, nones are less likely to participate in U.S. elections; with only around 17% of religious nones voting in the 2023 elections.
In 2022, only 39% of them voted compared to the 51% of religiously-affiliated American adults who participated. When it comes to civic engagement, nones are less likely to contact government officials or attend government conferences.
Based on the Pew survey, nones are usually under 50 years old. When it comes to gender, 51% of them are men and 47% of them are women.
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Other Things To Know About American Nones
The Pew Research Center said that some American nones still believe in God.
"No, not all 'nones' are nonbelievers. They are far less likely than religiously affiliated Americans to say they believe in God 'as described in the Bible,' but most do believe in God or some other higher power," explained the American think tank.
Pew said that in their survey, only 29% of American nones said that they don't believe in God or a higher power/spiritual force in the universe.
On the other hand, 56% of nones said they believe in other higher power. Meanwhile, around 13% of them believe in God as described in the Bible.
When it comes to participating in religious activities, 3% of nones said that they attend religious activities at least monthly. Meanwhile, 7% said that they go to religious services a few times each year.
"Most 'nones' say they were raised in a religion, usually Christianity. Yet today, they tend to be disconnected from religious institutions," said the Pew Research Center.
When it comes to their reasons, Pew discovered that Americans become nones because of the following:
- Question a lot of religious teachings: 60%
- Don't like religious organizations: 47%
- Don't see a need for religion in life: 41%
- Don't believe in God or a higher power: 32%
- Bad experiences with religious people: 30%
- Don't have time for religion: 12%
