Religion has certainly lost its luster. Slowly but surely, people have been abandoning organized religion in droves in the western world. The combination of sex abuse scandals, and the ability to research the claims of the church has created an information was that religion is losing. It’s gotten to the point where those that profess no religion are now the majority of the population. In less than 2 decades, we went from being 16% of the population to 28%. That’s a few percentage more than the evangelical population. Let that sink in for a second.

There are a few consequences for not being affiliated with a church, and some of it is not ideal. For instance, the “Nones” say they have less of a connection to their community. That’s because there hasn’t yet been something to replace it. Eventually we might figure it out. For now, religious people can boast this one benefit we still lack.

The only sad news is that the movement is still predominantly white, and male. We’ve always known that this group was always prominent in the community. It had been hoped that there had been some improvement, but it still looks like there’s a lot of work to be done, especially in Black and Hispanic communities.

The other thing to note is that despite now being a majority, they have yet to exercise their political power, due mainly to the fact that they do not show up at the polls:

However, Smith points out that Nones are also less civically engaged than those who identify with a religion – they’re less likely to vote. So, while they identify as Democrats, getting them to the polls on election day may prove to be a challenge.

Now, part of the blame does lie in the apathy of voters. However, the other part of the blame goes to both parties who have been unable to find a way to reach this group, too frightened that doing so might alienate their base. Considering how massive this population is, it’s a mistake to ignore them, especially as this number is bound to keep growing.