The Nones 4 Understanding and Engaging the Nones I. Classifying - PDF document

1 Understanding & Engaging 
 The ‘Nones’ Richard A. Knopp Prof. Philosophy & Christian Apologetics Lincoln Christian University Coordinator, Room For Doubt www.roomfordoubt.com Session Webpage: www.worldvieweyes.org/scjc2018.html 2 The Nones 3 The ‘Nones’ 4 Understanding and Engaging 
 the Nones I. Classifying the Nones II. Counting the Nones III. Characteristics of the Nones IV . Captivating and Convicting the Nones

5 I. Classifying the Nones 6 The Literature on the Nones Surveys ✦ American Religious Identification Survey (IRIS) ✦ Pew Research (e.g. Religious Landscape Survey - 2007, 2014) ✦ Barna Group ✦ Lifeway ✦ General Social Survey [GSS] (1972-ff) ✦ World Value Survey [WVS] ✦ National Study of Youth and Religion (2003, 2005, 2008) 7 (Oxford, 2001) (NYU, 2014) (Oxford, 2014) (Oxford, 2016) (Oxford, 2015) 8

9 Nones: Not Affiliated with any “Religious” Group 10 Nones: Not Affiliated with any ‘Religious’ Group A S ociological Descriptor 1. Atheists, Anti-theists, Apatheists ✦ Only 31% of Nones: Atheist or Agnostic (Pew 2014). ✦ Of the 31%: 13% Atheist; 17% Agnostic. 
 11 Nones: Not Affiliated with any ‘Religious’ Group A S ociological Descriptor 1. Atheists, Anti-theists, Apatheists ✦ Only 31% of Nones: Atheist or Agnostic (Pew 2014). ✦ Of the 31%: 13% Atheist; 17% Agnostic. 
 2. Spiritual But Not Religious (SBNR) ✦ 37% of Nones are SBNR. ✦ 68% believe in God. ✦ 21% pray every day. 
 12 Religious Not 
 Pharisees ? Spiritual Spiritual Yourself ? Jesus ? 37% of Nones 42% of Nones Not Religious

13 The Nones 100% 90% 80% 70% 68% 60% 50% 40% 42% 37% 30% 20% 17% 10% 13% 0% Atheist Agnostic Believe in God Spiritual But 
 NOT Spiritual 
 Not Religious NOR Religious 14 II. Counting the Nones 15 Headline “Nones” the 2nd Largest Group in America 16 Counting the Nones ✦ “ Second-largest group” in 112 countries (Pew 2014) ✦ The “largest” religious group in seven countries (Pew 2014).

17 Counting the Nones “All the numbers tell us that if the unaffiliated gathered into a formal religious organization, it would be larger than any Protestant denomination and all Mainline Protestant denominations combined” (Drescher, 6) 18 II. Counting the Nones Growth Considerations 19 The “Nones”: Growth 50 % Pew Research Center, 2012 and 2014 All Mercandante ( Oxford 2014 ) Americans 40 % 19 Million INCREASE (56 Million) 30 % 22.8% 19.3% 20 % 15.3% 8.1% 10 % 5.0% 2.0% 0 % 1950s 1972 1990 2007 2012 2014 20 The “Nones”: Growth 50 % Millennials Pew Research Center, 2012 and 2014 36% 40 % 34% 32% 30 % 22% 20 % 11% 10 % 0 % 1990 2007 2012 2014 (25-33) 2014 (18-24)

21 II. Counting the Nones Geographical Considerations 22 Nones by U.S. Census Divisions (2007-2014) 30% 30% 24% 29% 22% 26% 16% 21% 17% 23 GROWTH of Nones (2007-2014) 57% 33% 50% 26% 30% 44% 60% 40% 55% 24 “Not Religious” AND Attend Infrequently or Not At All 100 % 100 % W orld V alues Survey 80 % 80 % 2011 66.0% 56.0% 60 % 60 % 47.0% 40 % 40 % 28% 20 % 20 % 8% 0 % 0 % America 1981 America 2011 Germany Australia Sweden

25 United Kingdom – Nones 2015 British Election Study 100% 80% 66.0% 60% 45.0% 40% 20% 3.0% 0% 1963 - All 2014 - All 2014 ≤ 25 yrs old 26 II. Counting the Nones Generational and Religious Backgrounds 27 The Nones: From Where? ✦ Not just church hemorrhaging ✦ From a religious heritage: 79% (21% raised unaffiliated) R R 1:4 Nones 28 Raised in Group vs. Current 
 (2007-2014) 35% 31.7% 30% 25.4% 23.9% 25% 22.8% 20.8% 19% 20% 14.7% 15% 9.2% 10% 5% 0% 2007 2014 2007 2014 2007 2014 2007 2014 Catholic Mainline Prot. Evangelical Nones

29 Drescher, Choosing Our Religion (Oxford, 2016) % Who % Who % Who Raised As: STAY LEAVE Become Nones Hindu 84 20 18 Jewish 76 25 18 Catholic 68 41 20 Baptist 60 63 15 Presbyterian 40 66 25 Non-Denom. 44 53 19 Protestant 30 Sherkat, Changing Faith: The Dynamics and Consequences of Americans’ Shifting Religious Identities (NY Univ. Press, 2014) [GSS Data] Pre- 1925- 1944- 1956- 1971- Original Identification 1925 1943 1955 1970 1994 Liberal 2.5% 6.6% 12.9% 14.5% 21.9% Protestant Moderate 2.6% 4.7% 8.2% 9.8% 17.5% Protestant Sectarian 3.4% 3.9% 6.8% 10.8 13% Protestant 31 Counting the Nones Schnabel and Bock, “The Persistent and Exceptional Intensity of American Religion: A Response to Recent Research,” Sociological Science (Nov. 27, 2017). 32 Strength of Affiliation 60% N O T S t r o n g A f f i l i a t i o n 50% 40% Strong Affiliation 30% 20% s ) e o n N n ( o a t i l i f f i A N o 10% 0% Schnabel & Bock, in Sociological Science (2017): GSS Data 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015

33 Type of Affiliation 70% Non-Evangelical 60% 50% 40% Evangelical 30% 20% No Affiliation (Nones) 10% 0% Schnabel & Bock, in Sociological Science (2017): GSS Data 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 34 III. Characteristics of 
 the Nones 35 III. Characteristics of 
 the Nones Spirituality 36 “Spiritual But Not Religious” ✦ New Age ideas, BUT … At least 61% of practicing Christians embrace at least one idea rooted in New Spirituality.

37 “Spiritual But Not Religious” ✦ Spiritual but NOT SEEKING. ✦ “Are you looking for a religion that would be right for you?” 
 88%: “NO.” 38 III. Characteristics of 
 the Nones Believing vis-à-vis Belonging 39 Belong 3. Belong; 
 1. Believe & Belong Don’t Believe c. 8%–9% of Americans Do Not 
 Believe Believe Nones? 2. Believe; 4. Don’t Believe; Don’t Belong Don’t Belong Do Not Belong 40 Believing (in God) and Belonging GSS Data - Sherkat, Changing Faith - Among All Americans 15% 12.2% Don’t Believe but Belong 10% 7.7% Don’t Believe and 7.4% Don’t Belong 5% Believe but Don’t Belong 4.3% 0% 1988 1991 1993 1994 1998 2000 2006 2008 2010 2012

41 “It’s not that we’re having a ton of babies” 42 Level of Doubt God’s Bible 
 Bible 
 Existence 
 ??? ??? ??? Afterlife 
 Heaven 
 Miracles 
 ??? ??? Creation 
 ??? ??? Hell 
 ??? God’s Existence 
 God’s Nature 
 Bible 
 ??? ??? ??? 43 IV . Captivating & Convicting 
 the Nones 44

�������� 45 Atheist Nones 13% Misc. 2% Agnostic 17% Believe in God 68% Misc. 21% SBNR 37% Neither Sp. 
 Nor Rel. 42% 46 IV . Captivating & Convicting 
 the Nones 1. Shift the Location and the Look of the “Front Door” to Christ. 47 The Malaise of Immanence and the 
 Memory of Transcendence 48 A Different Sign

������������� 
 �������� 49 A Different Sign 50 IV . Captivating & Convicting 
 the Nones 2. Creatively address the “Postmodern Ethos” while being Cautious of Postmodernism as a Philosophical Posture. 51 A Postmodern Ethos 52 Concepts and Terminology Cultural Philosophical Modern Modernism Postmodern Postmodernism

53 ‘ Modern’ ‘Postmodern’ ‘ModernISM’ ‘PostmodernISM’ vs. vs. Cultural Philosophical Western vs. Global Certainty vs. Skepticism Conformity vs. Diversity Reason vs. Relativism Machine vs. Digital Science vs. Suspicion Word vs. Image Universal Truth vs. truths Linear vs. Random Foundationalism vs. Contextualism r e g n Kinds of Philosophical Postmodernism o r t S 54 IV . Captivating & Convicting 
 the Nones 3. Present a Comprehensive and Compassionate Case for the Rational, Evidential, and Existential Basis for the Christian Faith. 55 A Rational, Evidential, & Existential Case 56 The Peril of “Privatizing” Faith

57 IV . Captivating & Convicting 
 the Nones 4. Appeal to the Prospects of 
 Communal Unity. 58 St. Paul in America “I see that you are 
 spiritual but not religious.” 59 Understanding & Engaging 
 The ‘Nones’ Richard A. Knopp Prof. Philosophy & Christian Apologetics Lincoln Christian University Coordinator, Room For Doubt www.roomfordoubt.com Session Webpage: www.worldvieweyes.org/scjc2018.html