The Growth of Religious “Nones” in the United States

Chapter five of The Struggle for Democracy was an introduction to public opinion. The chapter begins by discussing how exactly public opinion is measured. Next, it discussed the agents of political socialization, or, the process of becoming politically opinionated and guided. Then, how political opinions differ immensely across the broad range of American demographics. And, last, the chapter questioned the public’s role in effectively shaping public policy. I find religion to be particularly interesting with regards to this chapter’s context. Below, I discuss religion’s significant ground in the political culture of the United States.

That religion does indeed play a role in American politics is not surprising, for the foundation of American democracy was established by men who (mostly) held religion in high esteem. The Founders sought to leave religious devotion in the private realm of individuals and to limit its presence in state affairs so it could thrive as an autonomous critic of governance in the hands of the people. Thus, religion’s most profound role in American politics is that it has shaped and informed the political views of many Americans, and continues to do so. In fact, a FiveThirtyEight poll had religion and education as one of the most predictive variables of the outcome in the 2016 election. In short, the religiously devoted are far more likely to identity with conservative values and vote for republican candidates. By contrast, the majority of religious “nones”, individuals who do not affiliate with any religion, tend to identify with liberal values and vote for democratic candidates. Since there a far more religiously affiliated Americans than “nones”, it would seem Republicans have a leg up.

However, according to a 2016 Pew Research Center study, the biggest trend in the religious makeup of the United States is the growth of religious “nones”. The study notes multiple factors that could be causing this growth. For instance, generational replacement is likely a driving factor of this trend. As the older generations with much lower percentages of “nones” die off, they are replaced with millennials with much higher percentages of “nones”. In addition, considering having no religious affiliation is becoming more socially acceptable, perhaps, then, the number of “nones” isn’t growing, but the number of people comfortable sharing their secular convictions is. As I noted above, the majority of highly religious Americans tend to hold conservative values and rally behind Republican candidates while less religious Americans tend to hold liberal values and support Democratic candidates. With that being said, what implications does this growth of religious “nones” have for future public policy? Given that many traditionally conservative values are grounded in faith, I think it’s sensible to assume the growth of non-religious Americans may, overtime, undermine the Republican party, especially if new generations continue the trend of being less religious. How will this change the presence of religion in the political culture of the United States, I wonder?

5 Responses to "The Growth of Religious “Nones” in the United States"

Haley Overlander says:

February 27, 2018 at 7:54 pm

William,

I appreciate your post on the way that religion impacts political decisions, and especially, political culture. I find your view intriguing, and I would like to delve further into the idea of how religion takes an active role in politics, and what that means for our political culture. According to our textbook, “The united states is, by any measure, a strikingly religious society…though there is mounting evidence that the category ‘no religious affiliation’ is rising among younger Americans” (Greenberg & Page, 97). Due to this inherent religiosity among Americans, it is interesting to watch the way in which religion can affect the outcomes of political decisions and beliefs.

For example, abortion rights and marriage laws both can take fundamentally religious perspectives, and those perspectives, can strongly influence the government, which party is in charge, and the decisions that are made. As stated by Gary Gutting for the New York Times, “what is striking on the current American scene, however, is the extent to which people see certain political and economic positions as required by their religious commitment.” Those who consider themselves to be religious, often feel as though they have the obligation to represent certain political and economic views based on their faith. Gutting goes on to state, “proponents of conservative views that require sober argument from empirical facts and generally accepted principles, instead merely assert them with religious fervor… opponents are understandably irritated by the irrationality of claims that distinctively modern questions about capitalist economics and democratic government were answered in the Bible 2000 years ahead of time.”

Gutting delves into the fact that many political leaders, and average citizens, who simply do not want to understand and question the true, empirical facts of their claims, try to substantiate certain assertions with the words of the bible written in a time before democracy, let alone modern societal mindsets, even existed. Gutting concludes with the idea that, “eschewing this sort of appeal to religious considerations would be a good start toward reducing the acrimony and frustration of our political debates.” Here, Gutting lays out the basic understanding that if, as a society, we can learn to avoid these religious considerations in regards to the political functioning of our society, we would be able to remove a great deal of the animosity that arises within our political debates.

This, William, is where I find myself able to attempt to answer your question. I believe that with time, and careful understanding of the changing political and religious climates, the religious ‘none’s’ may be able to help move our country away from the traditionally grounded conservative values ingrained in faith, and towards a more politically and socially liberal climate.

Sources:

Gutting, Gary. “Should Religion Play a Role in Politics?” The New York Times, The New York Times, 27 July 2011, opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/27/should-religion-play-a-role-in-politics/.

Greenberg, Edward S., and Benjamin I. Page. The Struggle for Democracy. Pearson, 2018.
David Shaw says:

February 28, 2018 at 12:50 am

Hey William,

I’ll admit it took me some time to figure out what you meant by the word “nones,” as you never explicitly define the term up front and one has to root through paragraph 3 to get the atheism link. But aside from that, I am intrigued by your point and definitely believe in its relevance, especially as Evangelicals increasingly take the reigns of the Republican party despite social trends. As a follow up, it might be worth noting specific government policies that could be impacted by the rise of these “nones” and beginning a discussion of how the clash between “nones” and religious political figures could play out. All in all, solid writing on a relevant topic.
Michael De La Cruz says:

February 28, 2018 at 10:58 pm

Great post, William.

I definitely agree with your stance that America is gradually shifting away from a culture of religiosity, and more towards a secular society. Being part of the younger generation, it is quite evident that not everyone has the same religious ideal their predecessors had. One interesting point that your post highlights is the polarization of the young versus the old.

Older Americans tend to have much more conservative ideals than their younger counterparts, and religion is one of the factors the influence this. I wonder how conservative our generation will be once we are considered old.

One interesting article I have come across that negates the idea of a shift toward secularism is a Huffington Post about Mike Pence. In the article, it can be seen that Mike Pence suggest that abortions will soon be outlawed again. This idea contradicts our shared beliefs, and gives the impression that we are reverting back to an ever more religious government. With our Unified Government, I wonder how far back into the past we will go.

Article: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/mike-pence-abortion-end-in-our-time_us_5a967267e4b07dffeb6dbc05
Marc Bosch Valentines says:

March 1, 2018 at 10:33 am

Hey William,

That was a really interesting post. You brought into discussion a really relevant topic. The secularization of societies is something that is become more and more common among the developed economies. There’s no denying religion does not play the role it played a few years ago. While it is true that it is still inherent to politics since for instance, the government celebrates Prayer Breakfast, or when president Trump makes speeches he mentions god many times. Nevertheless, as you explain in the article, new generations are promoting this shift to a non-religious society. If we compare it to Europe, I would say that in the US there is a higher prevalence of religion over politics. In Europe, it is not well seen to tie religion to politics and this is why most politicians abstain from making any religious reference even though in private they may follow the religion they want. Therefore, I agree with what you say in the article regarding the progressive disappearance of religion in society. All in all, great choice.
Jennifer Munnings says:

March 4, 2018 at 7:03 pm

Thank you for your post,

The idea that religion is playing less of a significant role in our politics today is an interesting one affected not only by the dynamics of the old and young populations but also by social policy. Religion has often been used as a means of justification to critique or criminalise seemingly deviant behaviour. As the younger, more liberal, and less religious populations, age, I wonder in what ways will the Republican party be forced to change its stances on social policies. Will the spectrum of liberal and conservative shift? Or, are their other factors besides religion that strongly influence a persons social stance?
I was also really compelled by your assertion that maybe as being a religious “none” becomes more socially acceptable, more people are becoming more vocal about their position rather than the number of religious “nones” growing, although that may also be true. I am curious to see the ways in which religion grounds parties, and when that is disrupted, what’s left on public policy stances?

Best,
Jennifer

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