"None" but Not "Atheist"

The percent of the American population that reports no religious affiliation has increased dramatically over the last few decades--from about 5% to almost 30% today. These individuals, who are referred to as the "nones" because they select "none" on surveys when asked for their religious affiliation, now outnumber the Catholics in the U.S.A., which is America's largest denomination.

But who are the nones? And exactly how religious are they?

This has been the topic of a lot of research in recent years, and this article on Religion Unplugged provides an excellent look at why the increase in Nones has not meant an increase in atheism.

As you read this article, ask yourself:

• What is the difference between being a none and being an atheist?
• What are the characteristics of nones, and how do those differ from atheists?
• What people are likely to become nones, and which people are more likely to become atheists?
• What might it take for the people who are nones today to switch into something other than none in the future?

2024 USCIRF Annual Report

Just last week, the USCIRF released its 2024 Annual Report (full report in pdf here). You will learn more about the USCIRF later in the course when we study religious regulation, but for now you can get a sense of the significance of the report by reading the press release here.

The significance of the report is really in which countries are named as "Countries of Particular Concern" (CPCs), which are the countries that have the most severe religious freedom violations. This year there are 17 countries that were given the CPC designation. The list nearly identical to last year's list except one country has been removed and a different one added.

Download and browse the report. Pick out a country or two and read about the religious freedom violations in those countries to get a sense of how religion is being regulated in those countries. Appendix 2 has some tables and charts that also summarize some of the findings of the report.