A revealing study from the Pew Research Center showed that the number of religiously unaffiliated adults in the United States has soared from 16% in 2007 to 28% in 2023, with the group of religious “nones” being made up of those who describe themselves as atheists, agnostics, or “nothing in particular.”
For background, a report published by the Pew Research Center on January 24, 2024, revealed that the number of religious “nones” in America has grown exponentially in the last two decades, and that most of the “nones” believe that religion can be harmful to society. However, the results of the Pew study showed that most “nones” still believe in God or “another higher power.”
According to the report, the majority of religious “nones” (60%) said that they do not adhere to any organized religion because they “question a lot of religious teachings.” Furthermore, 47% said that they “don’t like religious organizations,” and 41% reported that they “don’t see a need for religion…in life.”
However, only 32% of the surveyed “nones” said that they “don’t believe in God or a higher power,” and 30% said they were religiously unaffiliated because of “bad experiences with religious people.” Overall, 67% of surveyed individuals attributed their lack of faith to skepticism and doubt, and 55% said that they were unhappy with religious organizations or religious people.
Importantly, Pew’s research determined that not all “nones” are “nonbelievers,” with the report clarifying that this group is “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.” The report showed that only 13% of religious “nones” believe in God “as described in the Bible.”
On the other hand, over half (56%) of religious “nones” still expressed belief in some “other higher power,” and 29% said they believe in “neither.” Moreover, most of the “nones” said they were “raised in a religion, usually Christianity.” However, the majority of “nones” reported feeling “disconnected from religious institutions.”
In addition, a large portion of “nones” (41%) said that organized religion does “equal amounts of good and harm,” while 43% said that religion does “more harm than good.” 14% of “nones” believe that religion does “more good than harm,” despite not adhering to any form of organized faith.
According to the report, the overwhelming majority of religious “nones” share common ground with religiously affiliated Americans when it comes to morality. 83% of “nones” said that the basis for their morality was that they “don’t want to hurt people,” and 82% of religious Americans said the same. However, 65% of religious Americans also said that their beliefs dictate some aspect of their view of morality.
Featured image credit: Shutterstock