“People in their 20s and early 30s account for more than a third of the country’s “nones,” an academic nickname for the religiously disaffiliated.”
“Religion is no longer the mode through which many people live their lives, and this relatively new state of affairs affects even those who remain religious: It opens up the possibility of beliefs and practices that are not simply inherited, but actively chosen.”
“But even as the country is becoming somewhat less religious, it is also becoming more religiously diverse.”
“Religious choices are proliferating as conscious choices. Even as they create some of the most intense and hate-filled conflicts in American politics, they’re also a source of creativity; these choices help people shape their identities and form a sense of self.”
“Religious choices can also be a source of anxiety, and not just for the people facing them. The brains of the young sometimes seem packaged in black boxes; experts spend incredible amounts of time picking apart and predicting their decisions.”
“But perhaps no Millennial mystery evokes as much anxiety as their religious beliefs and practices—particularly when it comes to the “nones,” a label that provides excellent fodder for sociology-of-religion puns, if not conceptual clarity.”