None of the Above: Nonreligious Identity in the US and Canada . Joel Thiessen and Sarah Wilkins-Laflamme. New York Unive
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None of the Above: Nonreligious Identity in the US and Canada. Joel Thiessen and Sarah Wilkins‑Laflamme. New York University Press, 2020 Ryan T. Cragun1 Received: 22 July 2020 / Accepted: 12 August 2020 © Religious Research Association, Inc. 2020
Abstract In their new book, None of the Above, Joel Thiessen and Sarah Wilkins-Laflamme provide detailed descriptions and comparisons of individuals with no religious affiliation (i.e., “nones”) in both the US and Canada. Scholars who are familiar with the increasingly robust literature on nonreligion will find that this book reinforces much of we know while adding important nuance and a comparative perspective between the US and Canada. For researchers who are less familiar with the literature on nonreligion, None of the Above provides a cutting edge overview of the current state of this area of research. Keywords Nones · Nonreligion · Canada · United States · Nonreligious · Atheism · Agnosticism · Spiritual but not religious In their new book, None of the Above, Joel Thiessen and Sarah Wilkins-Laflamme provide detailed descriptions and comparisons of individuals with no religious affiliation (i.e., “nones”) in both the US and Canada. The book draws on a variety of data sets - nationally representative academic surveys in both the US and Canada, opinion polling data in both countries, some additional surveys, and qualitative interview data in Canada to add personal and narrative elements to the book. The book begins by exploring who the nones are, examining both those who were never religious and those who have left religions. They argue that people leave religions for a variety of reasons, including greater autonomy regarding religion in adolescence, intellectual disagreements with religions, social network influences, significant life transitions, opposition to religious exclusivity, and simply being too busy. They also illustrate that there is a substantial amount of diversity among those with no religious affiliation. They outline five subtypes of nones, all of whom have no * Ryan T. Cragun [email protected] 1
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Review of Religious Research
religious affiliation but vary in their worldviews and behaviors. First are “involved seculars,” individuals who do not believe in the supernatural and are engaged with an atheist, humanist, or freethought organization. Second are “inactive nonbelievers,” who like involved seculars, do not believe in the supernatural for the most part but are not engaged with secular organizations. Third are “inactive believers,” individuals who do believe in gods or some other form of the supernatural but rarely if ever attend religious services and don’t consider themselves particularly spiritual. Fourth are a now well-known group, the “spiritual but not religious,” who consider themselves to be spiritual but rarely if ever attend religious services. Fifth are the “involved believers,” individuals who do hold supernatural beliefs and
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