A quarter of Americans likely to claim no religion in 20 years

If current trends continue, a quarter of Americans are likely to claim "no religion" in 20 years, according to a recent report by Trinity College based on the 2008 American Religious Identification Survey. Americans who identify with no religious tradition currently comprise 15 percent of the country, representing the fastest growing segment of the national religious landscape. "Religious Nones" accounted for just 8 percent of the population in 1990. The '90s saw a boom in secularism -- each year 1.3 million more adult Americans joined the ranks of the Nones.


According to the report, "“None” is not a movement, but a label for a diverse group of people who do not identify with any of the myriad of religious options in the American religious marketplace – the irreligious, the unreligious, the anti-religious, and the anti-clerical. Some believe in God; some do not. Some may participate occasionally in religious rituals; others never will."

So where did these Nones come from? The majority (73%) emerged from religious homes, the vast majority of which were homogeneous, according to the survey. Twenty-seven percent of Nones had a non-religious parental role model.

Because of the gain of younger members, we can expect to see more Nones in the future. "Twenty-two percent of the youngest cohort of adults [18 to 29 year olds] self-identify as nones and they will become tomorrow's parents," according to the report. "If current trends continue and cohorts of non-religious young people replace older religious people, the likely outcome is that in two decades the nones could account for around one-quarter of the American population."


Interestingly enough, there is a variety of belief in God among the Nones, ranging from theism to atheism. Twenty-seven percent believe there is definitely a personal God. Another 24 percent believe in a higher power and 16 percent aren't sure.


This provides a great opportunity for Christ followers to tell the Nones about the One who wants a personal relationship with them.