(NewsNation) — More than one-quarter of adults in the United States are religously unaffiliated, a new report by Pew Research shows.
Of the people surveyed, 28% told Pew they are atheists, agnostics or “nothing in particular” when asked about their religion.
This sparked some queries to the Pew Research Center, authors of the report said.
“At Pew Research Center, we get lots of questions about this group, often called the ‘nones,’ they wrote. “What do ‘nones’ believe? Are they opposed to religion? What are their views about science? Is their growth good or bad for society, and why?”
But as Pew writes, the answers are a little more complex than that.
Religious scholars have been using the term “nones” since at least the 1960s.
Pew’s latest data shows 17% of “nones” are atheists, 20% say they are agnostic and 63% say they’re “nothing in particular.”
Not all “nones” are non-believers, Pew said. In fact, about half say that spirituality is very important in their lives.
Researchers found that while most “nones” believe in a higher power, very few go to religious services. They are not “uniformly” anti-religious, and believe it does some good — but also some harm.
Most “nones” said they were raised in a certain religion, often Christianity.
When asked why they’re not currently religious, “nones” brought up criticisms of institutions, with 47% saying they dislike religious organizations. About 30% say bad experiences they’ve had with religious people help explain why they are nonreligious.
Many Americans see the decline in people who believe in religion as a negative thing. While Pew Research indicates that “nones” tend to vote less, do less volunteer work, and follow public affairs at lower rates, these statistics are concentrated among those who say their religion is “nothing in particular.” Atheists and agnostics, on the other hand, are civilly engaged at levels matching or even exceeding those who are religiously affiliated.
Both atheists and agnostics also have higher levels of education than religious people, Pew said, although people who said they’re “nothing in particular” typically have lower levels or education.
“In other words, on some measures, it’s not whether a person identifies with a religion (or not) but whether they actively take part in a religious community that best predicts their level of civic engagement,” Pew wrote. “In short, the link between religious disaffiliation and civic engagement is complicated.”
