Around a quarter of Americans don’t identify with any religion, but many reportedly still hold some religious perspectives, according to Lifeway Research story.
Lifeway Research surveyed more than 2,000 U.S. adults who are atheist, agnostic or have no stated religious preference to discover their perspective on meaning, morals and what’s missing from society.
“The secularization trend in America saw a growing percentage of Americans cease to identify with a religion,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research. “We desired to understand the thinking of these ‘nones’ on many aspects of life and religion.”
For the past 50 years, one of the primary religious demographic stories in the U.S. has been the rise of the nones, those who select “none of the above” when asked their religious preference. The percentage of Americans in this group has climbed from the single digits in the 1970s to more than 1 in 5 American adults today.
Recent research has shown their growth has plateaued after decades of uninterrupted growth, but the nones still comprise a significant portion of the U.S. religious landscape. And much like their religious counterparts, the religiously unaffiliated are not monolithic in their viewpoints.
Religious beliefs among the nonreligious
Only slightly more than a third of nones (36%) say they have a complete absence of religious beliefs. A similar share (37%) say they are somewhere between belief and unbelief, while 12% have strong religious beliefs. Another 15% aren’t sure.
Still, few religiously unaffiliated (23%) see religion as important in their lives. More than 2 in 3 (68%) disagree. Similarly, few (29%) describe themselves as a person of faith, while most (53%) reject that label.
Almost half (47%), however, consider themselves spiritual. When asked what is included for them in being spiritual, almost 2 in 3 (65%) say being in tune with their inner self. More than 3 in 5 say it includes a belief in spiritual forces, karma and/or energy (63%) or being in tune with nature (62%).
“When people in our culture say ‘secular,’ they imply a forgone conclusion that religion is absent or obsolete,” McConnell noted. “Yet, only half who do not claim a religion for themselves actually have such secular views. So, if we want to call American society secular, we have to define it differently.”
Most nones who think of themselves as spiritual say, for them, being spiritual involves belief in a higher power (56%) or connecting with other people (53%). Fewer say it includes belief in spirits, angels and/or demons (40%) or a belief in God (39%).
As far as their specific religious beliefs, the religiously unaffiliated have a variety of perspectives on God.
Nearly a quarter (23%) aren’t sure if God exists. One in 5 (20%) say they believe God does not exist. Fewer say they believe in God and seek to know God relationally (18%), believe there is a God but don’t think God can be known (15%) or believe there are multiple gods or deities (11%). Around 1 in 8 (12%) aren’t sure.
Most (55%) believe the existence of supernatural entities is very likely, including 25% who strongly agree. Three in 10 (30%) disagree, and 15% aren’t sure.
“The nones’ beliefs that the supernatural exists and that there is something deeper, fuller and transcendent defy the secular narrative that people are fleeing all that is religious and spiritual,” McConnell said.
When it comes to life after death, almost half (48%) of nones say no one really knows what will happen. Almost 1 in 5 (18%) say they will cease to exist anywhere.
Three in 10 have some type of afterlife belief. Almost 1 in 10 say they will return here in another life form (9%), while 1% believe they will go to hell.
Around 1 in 5 believe they will go to heaven, either because they have tried their best to be a good person and live a good life (9%), because they have confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior (7%) or because God loves all people and will not let any of them perish (4%).
Full story.
For more information, view the complete report and visit LifewayResearch.com/Nones.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Aaron Earls and originally published by Lifeway.
