If you surveyed Americans, asking them to identify themselves as:

B) Muslim

C) Evangelical

D) Mormon

…and so on, an increasing number will select the very last option—none of the above. Study after study has shown a steady decline in religious affiliation, with one in five Americans identifying as “None.” Traditional religious believers watch these numbers with a bit of uneasiness, wondering why fewer people are connecting with institutional religions. But many Nones continue to value religion and spirituality even though they don’t want to belong to an organized church.

In this episode, Elizabeth Drescher joins us to talk about her new book on this subject, Choosing Our Religion: The Spiritual Lives of America’s Nones (Oxford University Press, 2016). Drescher surveyed thousands of people and directly interviewed around a hundred Nones to learn about their backgrounds, hopes, morals, and spiritual sensibilities. Her work allows us to become more familiar with some Nones in this episode of the Maxwell Institute Podcast.

About Elizabeth Drescher

Elizabeth Drescher is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Santa Clara University in California. Her work on American spirituality has been published in periodicals like America, Salon, and The Washington Post. Her books include Tweet If You Jesus: Practicing Church in the Digital Reformation and Choosing Our Religion: The Spiritual Lives of America’s Nones.

The post #47—The spiritual lives of America’s “Nones,” with Elizabeth Drescher [MIPodcast] appeared first on Neal A. Maxwell Institute | BYU.