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| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 46,000,000 (2010) 20% of the U.S. population (2012)[1] (Pew Research Center) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| New England region, Western United States | |
| Religion | |
| Irreligion (Nones) (including agnosticism, atheism, deism, skepticism, freethought/freethinker, secular humanism, ignosticism, Nonbeliever, Non-theist, Rationalist) |
Encompassing at least agnosticism, atheism, secular humanism, and general secularism,[2] nonreligious Americans have been counted in the tens of millions by various polls.[2][3] Many Americans, especially in the American West, have historically rejected both organized religion and nonreligion, preferring what historians sometimes call "disorganized religion".[4] For example, deists may be religious, though not part of any organized religion.[5]
In a 2006 Point of Inquiry podcast, Tom_Flynn_(author) stated, "Over a period from the late 1980's to the dawn of the 21st century, a number of polls using a number of different methodologies had continued to show a study rise, an approximate doubling in the number of people who did not claim traditional religious affiliation."[6]
A 2008 Gallup survey reported that religion is not an important part of their daily life for 34% of Americans.[7] A 2012 study by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life reported, "The number of Americans who do not identify with any religion continues to grow at a rapid pace. One-fifth of the U.S. public – and a third of adults under 30 – are religiously unaffiliated today, the highest percentages ever in Pew Research Center polling."[8] But being religiously unaffiliated does not mean that a person is not religious in some way; 68% of the religiously unaffiliated say they believe in God.[8]
Some evidence suggests that the fastest-growing religious status in the United States is "no religion",[9] comprising nearly 20% of the adult public as of 2012.[8] According to the Pew Research Center report people describing themselves as "atheist" or "agnostic" were 6% of the total population in the US, and within the religiously unaffiliated (or "no religion") demographic, atheists made up 12% and agnostics made up 17%.[10] Those who have no religious affiliation are sometimes referred to as "nones".[8][9][11]
Several groups promoting no religious faith or opposing religious faith altogether – including the Freedom From Religion Foundation, American Atheists, Camp Quest, and the Rational Response Squad – have witnessed large increases in membership numbers in recent years, and the number of secularist student organizations at American colleges and universities increased during the 2000s (decade).[3][12]
- ^ Losing Our Religion: The Growth Of The 'Nones'
- ^ a b Kosmin, Barry et al. American Religious Identification Survey, The Graduate Center of the City University of New York (2001). Accessed 2013-09-26.
- ^ a b Salmon, Jacqueline. "In America, Nonbelievers Find Strength in Numbers", Washington Post (September 15, 2007).
- ^ Ward, Geoffrey. The West: An Illustrated History, p. 151 (Hachette Digital 2008).
- ^ Schultz, Jeffrey et al. Encyclopedia of Religion in American Politics, p. 73 (Greenwood Publishing Group, 1999).
- ^ Grothe, D.J. "The Rise of the Non-Religious"". Point of Inquiry. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
- ^ Frank, Newport (28 January 2009). "State of the States: Importance of Religion". Gallup. Retrieved 6 November 2012.
- ^ a b c d "'Nones' on the Rise: One-in-Five Adults Have No Religious Affiliation". Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. 9 October 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2012. Cite error: The named reference "pew" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ a b "American Nones: The Profile of the No Religion Population" (PDF). American Religious Identification Survey. 2008. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
- ^ Cary Funk, Greg Smith. "Nones" on the Rise: One-in-Five Adults Have No Religious Affiliation" (PDF). Pew Research Center. pp. 9, 42.
- ^ Hunter, Jeannine. "Who are the 'Nones'?". Washington Post. Retrieved 6 November 2012.
- ^ Atheist Student Groups Flower on College Campuses