It’s easy to place these folks within the ranks of the “spiritual but not religious” whom Lillian Daniel likes to scold. There’s some truth to this: to the extent that my hippie-Marine friend has any kind of spiritual practice, it’s tied up with the yoga she teaches. The English woman derives more meaning from U2 lyrics than scripture, a habit I dare not tease her about for fear of having something thrown at my head.<\/p>\n
We are also told, particularly by committed atheists, that the nones represent the rise of a post- or even anti-religious society. There\u2019s some truth to this as well, but only some. Of my five closest friends from high school, only one would attend a church if he could find one that suited him nearby. Yet four of them wanted me to officiate at their weddings. (The other got married before I entered ministry.) Only one is antipathetic to faith; the others simply shrug their shoulders at it. Yet they\u201d\u201dand all the others I have mentioned\u201d\u201dwould have no qualms about claiming me as their pastor, as though that were some kind of subversive triumph. Perhaps I should cut down on the swearing.<\/p>\n
Finally, we often hear that the nones are people who have left\u201d\u201dor been pushed out of\u201d\u201d organized religion….<\/p>\n