Wait, What Even Are Nones?

If you’re like me, the first thing you think of when you hear the word “none” is Whoopi Goldberg in Sister Act. Yes, Whoopi played a nun in a movie, but that’s not the kind we’re talking about.

Someone who identifies or is categorized as “none” is someone who is not affiliated with any place of worship or religious/spiritual practice. So let’s say you’re taking a survey and a multiple-choice question pops up. It asks “Which church do you belong to?” and lists off options. If you don’t belong to any of them, you may select “none,” as in “none of the above.”

Nones are not a new phenomenon. However, there has been a rather stark increase of Americans who are not affiliated over the past 50 years. According to the Pew Research Center, statistics taken from the U.S. Census Bureau’s August 2012 Current Population Survey show that just under 20% of US adults are religiously unaffiliated. A large number of nones are young adults (18-30ish) and the number is growing.

For some people, me included, the phrase “none” carries connotations that I do not like. It’s a vague word that suggests that someone who is a none is someone who holds no religious or spiritual beliefs. And while that may be the case for some, it isn’t the case for all.

In their book, Robert Putnam and David Campbell explain that it’s important to clarify that nones are people who are “less attached to organized religion than other Americans” while they also “do not seem to have discarded all religious beliefs or predilections.”

There are many reasons why the percentage of nones is rising in the United States. Putnam and Campbell offer one example that historically, a number of churches have been deeply infused with politics, and vice versa. That makes some people uncomfortable. The topics of abortion and women’s rights, 9/11, and homosexuality and same-sex marriage, are a few topics that make people uneasy when religion is thrown in.

One of my goals for this conversation of nones is to come up with a new term, as well as think about whether a term is even necessary, or appropriate. It sort of reminds me of gender fluidity. A number of my friends identify as gender non-conforming and queer. That’s putting it simply because many of us feel that there just isn’t a word in the English language that articulates how someone identifies well enough. The same goes for how some people practice religion. Maybe I’m Buddhist today, even though I was Christian yesterday. Tomorrow, I could have no idea what I am. 

There have been some religious typologies that a lot of people have thought of. My favorite so far is “Seeker.” But is that specific enough? I’d love to hear your reactions to “none” and offer any thoughts on it in the comment section below.