Understanding Nones

The Guardian has written a piece on a report from the thinktank Theos about those who say in opinion polls that they are not religious, or not affiliated to any religion. These so-called 'nones' are increasing as a percentage of the population, something borne out by both the polls and expected in upcoming national census data.

What is interesting for us is the next level analysis of people thinking of themselves in this way. Theos has done some valuable work, showing that such people broadly fall into three sub-categories roughly equal in size: the 'hard', the 'easy-going' and the 'spiritual'. The first category are actively against organised religion and may well have clear atheist views. The other two however often have an openness. The 'easy-going' are not really fussed either way, whilst the 'spiritual' most likely believe in some kind of god/gods/spiritual forces etc., and are likely open to explore.

This means that even with polls showing just over 50% of the population not being religious, about 16% of the population will still be 'spiritual' in some way, and another 16% are easy-going on the topic. That is echoed by the Talking Jesus research which showed non-Christians who had conversations with a Christian about faith subjects tended to remember positive aspects of those discussions.

My own experience bears this out. I meet lots of people who are quick to tell me they are not religious ... but the ensuing conversation shows that they do have a basic openness to things spiritual, and we end up having a fruitful time together. I repeatedly find that the openness is best explored by pointing people to Jesus, rather than trying to explain (or make excuse for) the church and its doctrines. It's another reason why I have the personal mantra: "Take people to Jesus, not to church!".

The 'nones' are on the rise, but that is not necessarily all bad. Be ready to point people to Jesus, and look for the genuine spiritual openness which is out there for sure.