SEPT. 29, 2003

SPIRITUALITY
'None' sense: Engaging the 'spiritual but not religious'

The number of Americans who claim no religious identity in surveys, dubbed "nones" by experts, has doubled in the past decade, making them possibly the third-largest group in the country, after Catholics and Baptists. Yet most of these 29 million people have spiritual beliefs, according to 2001 survey: Two-thirds believe in God, more than one-third consider themselves religious, and they buy a lot of books about spirituality.

Religion sociologists and historians are working to find out more about this group for good reason: Their numbers are significant enough to affect public discussion, if they choose to. At the same time, they pose a challenge to civic groups and community life. What motivates them to join community groups, since they don't join religious groups? After all, people with religious involvement are more likely to be engaged in community life.

So far, researchers say, they have learned that this loose but distinctive group cares about ethics, particularly corporate ethics, the environment, global political issues and relationships. They're less likely to make decisions based on what authorities and institutions say and more likely to go outside already organized groups to get things done. Experts say it's hard to predict how this group will behave politically. A plurality self-identifies as politically independent; a smaller number identify as Democratic.

Why it Matters
The "nones" live everywhere in the country, even the traditional Southern Bible Belt, where they make up more than 10 percent of the population. Their growing numbers mean they have the power to influence issues or mobilize change, but they can't be reached through traditional institutional channels. They are already a part of everyday community life, and their concerns and patterns of social behavior pose questions for researchers as well as public figures seeking to mobilize them.

Questions for reporters
Reporters' biggest challenge is to find people who identify as "spiritual but not religious" or "none of the above," particularly because they don't tend to join any specific group. Some may even be reticent to identify themselves that way. Here are some ideas:

• Talk to local environmental groups. Do they include people who say they are motivated by spiritual concerns for nature or creation?
• Talk with local bookstore owners. What do they know about the concerns of customers who buy spirituality books? What other kinds of books are those customers buying? Look for people browsing in a store's religion and spirituality section. What are they buying, and how does it relate to how they spend their time? Do they vote? Volunteer?
• Check with local centers that coordinate volunteers to a number of agencies, or at nonprofits in general. Can they suggest volunteers you might talk to? Do they see trends in what inspires people to volunteer?
• Look for local workshops or classes on personal growth, prayer and meditation, spirituality or yoga. Talk to people who lead them, people who take them. What community concerns or groups do they identify with or act on? Do they vote? Volunteer?
• Check local cafes and gathering places that offer reading material or host book groups for patrons. Are people reading what they would describe as spiritual material, and if so, do they say they are applying it in some concrete way in their lives? Has it prompted them to join groups or take action?

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Click the map for interview sources in your state and region

National sources

• Robert Fuller, author of Spiritual but Not Religious: Understanding Unchurched America (Oxford Press, 2002) and professor of religious studies at Bradley University in Peoria, Ill., says that spirituality for the "spiritual but not religious" is part of their lives and activities rather than an "add-on" practice done in a separate building one day each week. Because of this, it would be hard to appeal to this group about specific social or political issues on spiritual grounds because they don't even label their concerns as "spiritual." Contact 309-677-3282, rcf@bradley.edu.
• Wade Clark Roof, professor of religion and society at University of California, Santa Barbara, and author of Spiritual Marketplace: Baby Boomers and the Remaking of American Religion (Princeton University Press, 2001), says spiritual but not religious people are too individualistic to be considered as a bloc with common political positions. He does say they tend to be concerned with global issues such as war and peace and have less institutional ways of organizing to get things done. Contact 805-893-3564, wcroof@religion.ucsb.edu.
• Patricia O'Connell Killen teaches American religious history at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Wash., and is lead editor on the forthcoming first volume of an eight-volume series on religion and public life in different regions of the United States. She says that research on people in the Northwest with no religious affiliation - the "nones" - suggests that they are politically active, primarily as independents, and their concerns include the environment, individual rights and social welfare. Contact 253-535-7776, killenpo@plu.edu.
• Meredith McGuire teaches sociology and anthropology at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, and has researched "spiritual but not religious" people, which she distinguishes from "unchurched." She says that conventional religion categories used in public opinion polls are virtually irrelevant to people's actual religious beliefs and practices because religious groups themselves contain widely divergent beliefs. Issues rather than organizations generate "fellow believers," she says. Contact 830-980-4390.
• Darren Sherkat is a sociologist at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale who has extensively researched social movements and religious change. He has studied survey data for trends about religiously unaffiliated people. Contact 618-453-2494, sherkat@siu.edu.
• John C. Green teaches religion and politics at the Bliss Institute of the University of Akron. He says that "spiritual but not religious" people tend to be moderately liberal, depending on the issue - less liberal than more secular people on cultural issues and more liberal than them on economic issues. They don't have gathering places or leadership and so are hard to address, but they can become politically active, often aligning with other groups behind Democratic or progressive candidates. Contact 330-972-6295, green@uakron.edu.
• C. Kirk Hadaway is director of research in the congregational development office of the Episcopal Church USA, and he held the same position for the United Church of Christ. He co-authored " 'Being religious' or 'being spiritual' in America: a zero-sum proposition?" in the June 2002 issue of the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, and has extensively researched religious affiliation. Contact 212-922-5331, khadaway@episcopalchurch.org.
• Marilyn McGuire founded the Network of Alternatives for Publishers, Retailers and Artists, the trade group for body/mind/spirit books and other products, in 1986. For almost two decades she has watched changes in this market of 65 million customers. Many "spiritual but not religious people" frequent NAPRA stores. Contact 360-376-2001, marilyn@marilynmcguire.com.
• Kenneth Pargament teaches psychology at Bowling Green State University in Ohio and has researched the psychological dimensions of spirituality. He has written extensively on spirituality and its uses in everyday life. Contact 419-372-8037, kpargam@bgnet.bgsu.edu.

Background

• The 2001 American Religious Identification Survey, which surveyed 50,000 people, provides totals for American religious groups (see Exhibit 1) and their political preferences (Exhibit 14). The 1990 National Survey of Religious Identification that ARIS updated put the number of "no religion" Americans at 14.3 million; in 2001, that number was 29.4 million (Exhibit 1, bottom of chart).
• "Tracking the Restructuring of American Religion: Religious Affiliation and Patterns of Religious Mobility 1973-1998" by sociologist Darren Sherkat of Southern Illinois University in the June 2001 edition of the journal Social Forces reviews data from the comprehensive General Social Surveys, which track American behavior and characteristics. It concludes, "Nonaffiliation is becoming increasingly prevalent among Americans." Sherkat says that after Catholics and Baptists, "nones" are the third-largest group among the youngest adults (those born between 1956 and 1980) surveyed. He also suggests that ties to secular groups may replace religious ones.
• A national poll done in 2001 for Spirituality and Health magazine suggested that "spiritual" and "religious" are compatible rather than distinct or opposing ways that people describe their beliefs. A 2002 update cites research putting the figure of "spiritual but not religious" Americans at 20 percent.