An Increase in Religious “Nones”: 2/4

I was very interested to see the various statistical mappings of religious involvement in the United States. What stood out me is that religious “nones” are becoming a larger percentage of religious diversity in America. “After 1990 more people thought that saying you were religious was tantamount to saying you were conservative Republican” (Chaves 17). Many people are abandoning organized religion because they refuse to be associated with the controversial conservative political party. I tested this notion on the Pew Forum website to determine whether or not Chaves was correct in his statement. The data on the Pew Forum revealed that the religious “nones” overwhelmingly supported the liberal political agenda. I have met many people who have abandoned their past religions because they would rather stick with their liberalism. I have to admit that I am one of these people. In addition to avoiding the Republican party, I think that young people are becoming more wary of religion because science is becoming more advanced. People previously used religion and faith to explain things they did not understand. Modern science has provided explanations for things that were once considered supernatural. Some people are faithful enough to look past some of these scientific explanations. There can be major contention when there is a pressure to choose religion v. science or religious conservatism v. liberalism. This contention can cause people to avoid conflict altogether by becoming a religious “none” (even if they still have spirituality). It is unfortunate that there does not seem to be much progress in having these different mindsets coexist. I am interested to see if the trend of religious “nones” will increase in the future.