1. Becoming Non-Religious
Nones and Dones
The Religiously Unaffiliated
Why People Are “Done”

2. Why Does Religion Exist?!
Functionalism Says
To Provide Social Cohesion
To Provide Social Control
To Provide Meaning And Purpose
To influence and reinforce societal integration by legitimating society’s values and norms
Conflict Theory Says
To Maintain Social Inequality
To Mirror Social Inequality
To Serve As An “Opiate”
To legitimate a status quo that benefits
society’s elites and diverts our attentions
from inequality
Why Does Religion Exist?!

3. Secularism
Believe That Jesus Is A Diety? 75%
“Religious interpretations of reality and religious orientations have yielded to explanations/justification for human behavior made in scientific and rational terms.”
Believe In Hell? 50%
Believe In Life After Death? 75%
Expositor of Doctrine:
SCHOOLS
Pray To God? 90%
Eventual Outcome:
A totally non-religious society?
Claim Membership In Religious Org? 90%
Nah!
Believe In God? 90%

4. Nones and Dones

5. The Religiously Unaffiliated
Changing Landscape
Evangelical Protestant
Southern Baptist, Assemblies of God, Church of Christ, Lutheran Church Missouri Synod
Mainline Protestant
United Methodist, American Baptist, Evangelical Lutheran, Presbyterian, Episcopal Church
Black Protestant
Church of God in Christ, African Methodist Episcopal, National Baptist Convention, FGBCF
Other World Religions
Sikhs, Baha’I, Taoism, Jainism
Other Faiths
Unitarians, Native American Religions
Which Groups Are Suffering The Biggest Losses?
WHY?
Pew Research Center 2014 Religious Landscape Study

6. The Religiously Unaffiliated
Changing Landscape
Which Groups Are Suffering The Biggest Losses?
WHY?
Generational Change Over Time
Silent Generation in 2007: 9% unaffiliated
Baby Boomers in 2007: 14% unaffiliated
Generation X in 2007: 19% unaffiliated
Older Millennials in 2007: 25% unaffiliated
People are getting more comfortable with saying “I’m a none!”
More people are born “nones” and 67% of millenial born-nones stay “nones”
Pew Research Center 2014 Religious Landscape Study

7. Why People Are “Done” They Wanted Community . . .
“I really enjoy the accountability aspect of my church. I really enjoy the small groups and living in a community with one another. Maybe I’m wrong, but that community aspect is really at the heart of my understanding of what God wants from us.” [Jaden]
“It was the church that brought me from being an atheist to being a Christian. I had an affinity for the people there. I don’t have that anywhere else.” [Mark]
. . . But Found Judgment
“I’ve felt judged at all the churches I’ve been to. I got in trouble at one church because I was wearing a hat. I’ve learned now to keep my mouth shut around religious people. They’re not really interested in what I think or have to say.” [Mason]
“I hate the personal judgment that goes along with church. I know a lot of it comes from guilt, but since my relationship with God is really personal, I don’t need a priest to tell me what I’ve done wrong.” [Madison]
Community
& Judgment

8. Why People Are “Done” They Wanted To Be Active . . .
“The continuous message at my church was ‘None of us here have any name tags. There’s no hierarchy. Everyone is valued. Leadership is shared. That was the stated position . . .”
. . . But Found Bureaucracy
“ But it absolutely wasn’t true in practice. In practice there were all kinds of gatekeepers and all kinds of hoops to jump through.” [Dan]
“They just seemed to put up more and more walls and barriers. It got to the point that just to have a simple meal in the church with some friends or a Bible study, we had to go through three committees. It just wasn’t worth it anymore.” [Janet]
“I get it. It’s a big church. You need rules and regulations. But you should be able to be empowering too. It’s not their fault. They’re just doing what they’re supposed to do. But is that really what we’re called to do?” [Allison]
Community
& Judgment
Activity
& Bureaucracy

9. Why People Are “Done” They Wanted Conversation . . .
“I wasn’t looking for agreement. I didn’t need the pastor to proclaim Darwin from the pulpit like I would have done. I just wanted someone to talk to. Our old pastor never got angry or anything. He was civil. We could even discuss evolution.” [Liam]
“I want to be in a place that welcomes disagreement. Not disagreeing just to be rude or nasty, but out of legitimate differences of opinion. Being able to express those differences openly is a more authentic experience of faith to me” [Mark]
. . . But Found Doctrine
“I wanted to think critically about my religion, and to critically challenge things. I did that very actively through my college years. I felt it strengthened my religion, but not my role in the church. The church wanted not part in that” [Jackson]
“Not only am I not interested in agreement, but I want to invite difference, because as soon as you have agreement, you have people on the outside. I’ve been on the outside, and that’s no way to have community. [Keith]
Community
& Judgment
Activity
& Bureaucracy
Conversation
& Doctrine

10. Why People Are “Done” They Wanted To Do Ministry . . .
“I wanted to deal with poverty.” [Aaron]
“Why do we get so hung up on just a few things? Like, tell me how ignoring the poor is not a moral failure? Why don’t pastors ever have to resign for that?” [Mary]
“I’m very interested in how the faith community is or isn’t actively contributing—other than yackety-yak from the pulpit—to the conversation about racism and police brutality right now.” [Diane]
. . . But Found Moral Prescriptions
“I went to church because I thought I could do some good there that I couldn’t do alone. I didn’t go so I could come home angry because they said my friends would burn in hell for who they loved. [Ella]
“Can we, as a church, just get everything else right—love your neighbor, feed the poor, all that stuff—and then talk about homosexuality? Can we just move that conversation to the bottom of the evangelical priority list?” [Laurie]
Community
& Judgment
Activity
& Bureaucracy
Conversation
& Doctrine
Ministry
& Morality