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GOVERNANCE & MINISTRY
by Dan Hotchkiss
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What About the Nones?
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Excerpt
Harry Cunningham on Unsplash The Nones are in the news and have been for a while. “Nones” are people who, when pollsters ask for their religion, say “None.” Nones used to be a tiny group, but now None is among the top three answers, alongside Roman Catholic and Evangelical Protestant. The rise of Nones reflect a cultural shift that can feel threatening, especially to Mainline Protestants, whose numbers have declined as Nones’ have risen. But for leaders who can listen sympathetically and respond flexibly, Nones may offer opportunities as well as threats. As a lifelong churchgoer, I sometimes find myself in sympathy with Nones, many of whom reject the same religious doctrines I do and criticize religious institutions for the same faults. Other Nones alarm me, for example, those who exercise their freedom of religion by abusing Jews and LGTBQ+ people, or who reject authoritarian churches only to embrace totalitarian
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