The Nones: Not Just one Category

In 1990, Christianity made up ninety percent of the American population and by contrast today Christians make up sixty-four percent of that same population, and PEW projects that by 2070 if the trend continues, Christianity could be in the minority, only making up thirty-five percent of the religious population. But just who are these people that are leaving Christianity? The fact of the matter is that while the phrase "none" is useful for colloquial conversation, they are not only one group of people, but in reality are a blend of people, having left the faith for a variety of different reasons. 

For this reason, it is vital that lay and clerical ministers understand the person they are accompanying in order to properly walk with them through the issues that they are facing. So let's define our terms.

Let's start with the most general, the Nones. The phrase “none” has become colloquially accepted as a catch-all for those persons who have at a minimum been baptized as Catholics but have not substantially been involved in the life of the ecclesial community or who have at once been a part of this community but have chosen to leave. Because of the spectrum of people within this community a spectrum of phrases must be used. "Disaffiliated" most accurately describes baptized Catholics for whatever reason have chosen to leave the Church. "Disaffiliating" will describe those currently in the process of leaving the faith. Finaly, "Unaffiliated’ will categorize those that have never been formally involved with the Church, though have been baptized. 

Yet even still, though there is a spectrum of how far affiliated or not the person is, there are also a variety of reasons for having left the faith. Though different authors utilize different nomanclature for each category, alliteration is helpful for memory so we will call these three categories the damaged, dissenters, and drifters. 

In further articles, we will discuss in greater depth each category, but here are three short descriptions of each type of disaffiliate.

The Damaged

The damaged are those individuals that have been hurt by the Church in some way. It could have been as extreme as being a victim of clergy sex abuse. It could be the case that this disaffiliate saw a person in their life representing the Church as not living up to what they saw as living up to the responsibility of being a good Christian. Whatever the case, the fact is that these people saw themselves as being irreperably hurt by the Church or one of her representatives.

The Dissenters

These might be what one immediately thinks of when they think of people leaving the faith. This group is made up of those individuals who have left the faith for doctrinal reasons. Liturgical wars, moral issues, or other doctrinal issues might be cited when individuals in this group are questioned.

The Drifters

Finally, the drifters. This group of people will often not recall an immediate point in their life when they left the faith, they just stopped caring. They might still put Catholic on census reports, but they don't go to mass, pray often or ever; the faith just doesn't play a role in their life. 

One Final Note

Though categories are helpful for the purposes of organization, it warrents mentioning that as many individuals have left the church, there are that same number of reasons for having left behind the faith. One person might fit neatly into one category, or all three. Another person might fit well in one category, while having some characteristics of the other two categories. The most important point for the pastoral minister to remember is that the person in front of them has a reason for leaving the faith, that is entirely unique to that person. Categories can be helpful, but ultimately their reason is their own. 

In upcoming articles, I will discuss each category of disaffiliate in further detail. If you are reading in the future, look for links to the more detailed article!