Getting to know “Nones” and “Dones”
What do “nones” and “dones” talk about when they talk about life? In other words, what do young adults with no connection to a faith community say when they are given the chance to share their values, hopes and goals? Over the past four years, a group of eight people, including pastors, theologians, Bible translators, church consultants, and executives from a variety of denominations, has been thinking deeply about this community of people. As a part of this analysis, we interviewed 225 people from the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania and beyond who identify as “nones” and “dones” — individuals with no religious affiliation (“nones”) or persons who have walked away from a religious tradition for one reason or another (“dones”).
This research will result in a book — Hear Us Out! Six Questions on Belonging and Belief, which will be published next year by Fortress Press. But the purpose behind our interviews goes beyond sociological study or writing a how-to manual for recruiting “nones” and “dones” for the church. As authors, we wanted to explore how to engage those from a wide variety of former faith traditions, or no faith tradition. So, the interviews explored basic questions of inspiration, belonging, values, adversity, legacy and shifts in faith. One of the striking aspects of the interview process was the number of people, as we quickly learned, who said something like “Thanks for asking! I never talk about these things anywhere else” — not with family, friends, or co-workers. They had no setting where these topics naturally came up.
In our discussions, we found both notable differences and striking similarities between our conversation partners, who were primarily young adults between the ages of 18 and 39, and church folk as we have experienced them. In contrast to the common cultural taboo around sharing sensitive personal information and vulnerabilities, our respondents were very matter-of-fact about them. They were able and ready to talk about their doubts, regrets, overall mental health and personal baggage, generally viewing these as opportunities for growth rather than as sources of embarrassment and shame. We found our interviewees to respond with the open and vulnerable sharing one might experience at a group counseling session, rather than the often-guarded sharing within churches.
In our discussions, we found both notable differences and striking similarities between our conversation partners, who were primarily young adults between the ages of 18 and 39, and church folk as we have experienced them.
We quickly discovered our conversation partners had little use for dogma, doctrines or creeds, and in general, they felt no need to have their belief system all figured out. The research team was often struck by the openness to mystery, awe and wonder they frequently expressed. “Nones” and “dones” actually prefer uncertainty to easy, pat answers that don’t seem honest to many of them. We were frequently told that our conversation partners did not find faith communities open to their questions, wonderments and doubts. And the interviewees are unwilling to deny or silence these questions. They are in fact, quite curious and open to safe places where they can voice their beliefs without fear of judgment, correction or exclusion. It was refreshing to find that they are quite comfortable not having answers to every question and living into mystery. They are comfortable deconstructing, constructing and reconstructing everything. We also discovered that “nones” and “dones” insist upon an environment that is honest to admit its historic mistakes that have often caused great pain and suffering in the name of God. Churches that want to engage young adults need to be open and inviting, both in attitude and teaching.
“Nones” and “dones” and Presbyterians
On the other hand, our conversation partners shared many values and aspirations with adherents to faith traditions — and particularly, in some ways, with Presbyterians! First, they want to be good neighbors, and this extends beyond the circle of their immediate family and friends to embrace the wider community and, indeed, the world. Many of them expressed having a desire to make a difference in both their professional lives and in their relationships with others. They often had an acute sense of social justice and wanted to find avenues through which to pursue it. While they wouldn’t use Reformed parlance to describe the world as “the theater of God’s glory,” they did view the world as an arena in which they were called to serve and advocate for others, in a broad and inclusive way.
While they wouldn’t use Reformed parlance to describe the world as “the theater of God’s glory,” they did view the world as an arena in which they were called to serve and advocate for others, in a broad and inclusive way.
Also, like people of faith, they wanted to build their lives on significant stories. They drew meaning from multiple sources, including their personal histories, favorite books, films, songs and computer games, and other cultural products that raised questions and challenged their assumptions. To borrow from philosopher Paul Ricoeur, they were much more interested in the exploratory than in the explanatory.
Our research and interviews with “nones” and “dones” gave us, the interviewers with deep roots in the institutional church, incredible hope. To be clear, emerging generations have no interest in fixing the many parts of the church that are broken. They don’t have skin in that game. But they are open to conversation and dialogue about how we might reshape the church in the 21st century. They are open to participating in the “giant rummage sale” of the church — an act that, as Phyllis Tickle writes in The Great Emergence, happens every 500 years or so. In fact, “nones” and “dones” have much to offer the church in terms of their technological adeptness, their capacity to hold tension, their openness to creative possibility, their desire to live authentically, and their curiosity about the mystery of God.
In fact, “nones” and “dones” have much to offer the church in terms of their technological adeptness, their capacity to hold tension, their openness to creative possibility, their desire to live authentically, and their curiosity about the mystery of God.
The Reformation articulated that the church is to be “reformed, always being reformed.” Change is a part of church life. Our conversation partners see the need for reform. If given the opportunity to talk with people who value what they have to say, they will share some of the reform that they believe needs to take place within denominational structures. They want shared leadership styles that are collaborative. They want women, minorities, the LGBTQIA+ community fully empowered to lead. Communities that are inclusive, open and welcoming of all will attract them. Churches that act rather than talk, churches that care for their neighbors, churches that appreciate multiple intelligences are inviting to them.
Overall, our conversation partners showed a willingness to deconstruct and reconstruct what they had received from the past, both personally and culturally, realizing that, as many put it, everything is “a constantly moving target.” As a religious tradition that is committed to reformation through the Holy Spirit, this should sound like our bread and butter. After all, if it is our God who leads us into the future and whose very name is “I will be what I will be,” the image of the moving target may not be so threatening.
