Nones (religion)

Nones do not subscribe to an organized religion such as Christianity or Judaism

Nones and the moniker of spiritual, but not religious

Nones often declare that they are spiritual, but not religious. Social science data indicates that that the spiritual but not religious are more vulnerable to mental disorders.

Research also shows that atheists are more prone to depression/suicide and are also more prone to having lower social skills (see: Atheism and depression and Atheism and suicide and Atheism and social/interpersonal intelligence).

Atheists attempting to falsely inflate their numbers via the nones

The atheist Georgetown University professor Jacques Berlinerblau likens the strength of the American atheist movement to a "gimpy little zebra".

See also: Atheism and deception

Although some American atheists like to claim the "nones" or "no religion" on religious surveys as one of their own, fewer than 15% of the "nones" are atheists.

The atheist Georgetown University professor Jacques Berlinerblau declared concerning American atheists attempting to falsely inflate their numbers:

“

American atheist movements, though fancying themselves a lion, are more like the gimpy little zebra crossing the river full of crocs. In terms of both political gains and popular appeal, nonbelievers in the United States have little to show. They are encircled by cunning, swarming [religious] Revivalist adversaries who know how to play the atheist card. The gimpy zebra remark was a little goofing on this over-the-top chest-thumping that emerges from Movement Atheists. They wildly overestimate their numbers. They tend to overestimate the efficacy of their activism. They underestimate how disciplined and organized their adversaries in the religious right are, too. They fail to recognize that mocking religious people in public is entirely inimical to the goals they wish to achieve."

”

See also: Americans have a low opinion of atheists

Nones and poor survey design

Research shows that a significant amount of American nondenominational church members are checking "unaffiliated" or "no religion" on surveys.

Based on research done by Baylor University, a February 2011 article entitled Good News about Evangelicalism declares:

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Nondenominational churches, almost exclusively evangelical, now represent the second-largest group of Protestant churches in America, and the fastest growing section of the American religious market... This trend has affected popular statistics and has also served to exaggerate the loss of religious faith and evangelical influence in America. Most previous research missed a new phenomenon: that members of nondenominational churches often identify themselves on surveys as unaffiliated or even as having “no religion.” Because traditional surveys do not provide categories that adequately describe those who attend nondenominational congregations, their members often check “unaffiliated” in typical surveys and questionnaires... Similarly, claims that Americans, including evangelicals, are falling away from the faith contradict seven decades of survey research confirming that only 4 percent of Americans are atheists.,, ...We found no statistically significant difference between younger and older evangelicals on other moral and political issues, however. Younger evangelicals were, in fact, sometimes more conservative than their elders. ...The number of evangelicals remains high, and their percentage among practicing Christians in America is, if anything, rising.

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