Description: In The Nones: Where They Came From, Who They Are, and Where They Are Going, Ryan P. Burge details a comprehensive picture of an increasingly significant group--Americans who say they have no religious affiliation.
The growth of the nones in American society has been dramatic. In 1972, just 5 percent of Americans claimed "no religion" on the General Social Survey. In 2018, that number rose to 23.7 percent, making the nones as numerous as both evangelical Protestants and Roman Catholics. Every indication is that the nones will be the largest religious group in the United States in the next decade. Burge's accessible book draws from carefully curated datasets, some tracking changes in American religion over a long period of time, others large enough to allow a statistical deep dive on subgroups such as atheists and agnostics. Burge also draws on data that tracks how individuals move in and out of religion over time, helping listeners understand what type of people become nones and what factors lead an individual to return to religion. The Nones gives listeners a nuanced, accurate, and meaningful picture of the growing number of Americans who say they have no religious affiliation. Burge explains how this rise happened, who the nones are, and what they mean for the future of American religion.Brief description: Ryan P. Burge is professor of practice at the Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University. He previously taught at Eastern Illinois University. His previous books include The Nones: Where They Came From, Who They Are, and Where They Are Going and, with Jim Davis and Michael Graham, The Great Dechurching: Who's Leaving, Why Are They Going, and What Will It Take to Bring Them Back? Burge has written for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Politico and has appeared on 60 Minutes. He was the pastor of an American Baptist church for more than seventeen years and lives in Mount Vernon, Illinois.