Stacy Long

AFA Journal staff writer

February 2015 – One out of every five Americans is religiously unaffiliated, according to 2012 Pew Research statistics. Of these, most are likely to vote Democrat (63%), support same sex marriage (73%), and believe abortion should be legal (72%). However, this demographic is not necessarily atheist, agnostic or hostile to religion. They might tell you they believe in God (68%), pray every day (21%), and believe churches strengthen the community (78%) and help the poor (77%). But when it comes to identifying with a religion, they will check “None” on every form they fill out.

Numbering the “Nones”
The demographic group of “Nones,” or religiously unaffiliated, is far from being of no consequence. As pointed out by James Emery White, author of Rise of the Nones, the unaffiliated are the second largest and fastest growing religious group in America, doubling from 8% to 16% between 1990 and 2008, and then climbing to 20% in just four more years. 

Pew Research adds that 37% of Nones are spiritual but not religious, and 74% were raised with some religious affiliation. So, for the majority, there is more at work than lack of interest or information. They are intentionally severing religious ties and leaving the church. But why?  

AFA Journal took that question to White, who pastors Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, a church with 70% of its growth from the unchurched. He told AFAJ declining religious interest is driven by privatization of religion, secularization in the public square, and pluralization that says all ideologies are equally valid. 

“But if you were to talk to someone on the street, you would likely get an answer along the lines of religion is all about ‘lawyers, guns, and money,’” he added. “Lawyers in that they believe religion has become extremely politicized, guns as being hate-filled, and money meaning materialistic.” 

Because Christianity has long been the prevalent faith in the U.S., it bears the brunt of negative stigmas about religion. However, that arises more from lack of understanding about Christianity and the convictions it inspires than from true antagonism.

“We’re living in a post-Christian culture,” White said. “Most don’t even have a memory of the gospel. They don’t understand it, and what they do know is skewed.”

As research shows, the unaffiliated are drawn to concepts such as God, social justice, and community. According to Lifeway Research, 82% say they would come to church if invited by a friend.

“They’re really attracted to functional community, and they’re attracted to causes,” White said. “For example, they may respect what a church does to rescue young girls from trafficking. That could bring them into the community, and then they’ll start exploring the Christ that community circles around.” 

The noise about needs
Once they start exploring the community, what will they find? Even existing members are leaving the church, so why would newcomers stay around? 

Those who continue to claim religious affiliation are also dropping church, coming less frequently or walking out the door with no intention of ever coming back. Thom Rainer, president and CEO of Lifeway Christian Resources, described the trend. 

“Twenty years ago an active church member was someone who attended three times a week,” he told AFAJ. “Now most statisticians accept three times a month. Going from four Sundays a month to two reduces attendance by half.” 

There is a common reason people say no to church, whether misunderstanding of Christianity keeps them away or whether they were raised in church. 

“We have dumbed down what it means to be part of the body of Christ,” Rainer said. “The dominant theme of departing church members is that their needs were not met. They have an entitlement mentality that church is all about them rather than the servant mentality that they have responsibilities to meet the needs of the body of Christ.”  

When the church is crumbling on the inside, those on the outside will notice. However, when a church displays focus beyond itself, it becomes more appealing. Just as White concluded, often a cause is the route that brings in those outside.  

“People want to be part of something that makes a difference,” Rainer said. “If they think, ‘Church is just about meeting my needs,’ that’s not going to make them feel they’re part of something really life-changing. They’ll stay where they think they are making a difference.” 

Be good, God’s out there
Beyond motivation to stick around and get involved in church, what cultivates and retains real faith over the long haul? 

To answer that question, Cameron Cole, youth director at Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham, Alabama, looked at research on why students have left church after reaching adulthood. 

“Studies found the primary theology of American religious teenagers is moralistic therapeutic deism,” he told AFAJ. “Moralistic, a set of rules to follow; therapeutic, about their experience and felt needs; and deistic, about a God who’s distant but there as a fallback.” 

Cole urged churches to set the foundation for lifelong faith, beginning with youth, by ceasing to feed flawed theology. Presenting Christianity as a set of moralistic rules for behavior only leads people to construe a negative and hollow understanding that makes Christianity a religion easy to walk away from.

“If the message heard about Christianity is nothing more than a booster to self esteem, be a nice person who doesn’t drink and do drugs, God is a nice fella who’s there as a fallback – none of that is very inspiring,” he said. “It’s not worth sticking with and remaining loyal to.”

People need to be shown how Christianity connects to their lives, and they need to hear frank discussions, even about hard doctrines, which center on the gospel. 

“If I don’t always go back to Jesus, and the reality of what He’s done in His life, death, and resurrection, what I’ve done is a failure,” Cole said.

And people simply need to hear things explained, as Cole gave pointers for doing: “Define terms. Don’t presume everybody knows, don’t presume everybody agrees, because that makes people feel alienated.” 

Above all, the most that can be done to reach the unchurched is to approach them in a relational way, with genuine friendship that brings you into their lives and, perhaps, brings them into the church and ultimately into relationship with Christ.  

• Rise of the Nones by James Emery White, churchandculture.org
• Essential Church and The Unchurched Next Door by Thom Rainer, thomrainer.com
• Through the ministry of Rooted, Cameron Cole and a network of other youth ministers work to strengthen youth ministry that instills sustainable faith in students. The ministry’s annual conference will be held in Chicago in October 2015. rootedministry.com , 205-226-3507