Understanding the ‘nones'
Some details from the 2018 British Social Attitudes survey on religion in the U.K. placed 'nones' as 52 percent of the British population, those who identify as Christian at 38 percent and as members of non-Christian faiths at 10 percent. The 2021 Official U.K. Census (compiled during the Covid-19 pandemic) was more nuanced, but shows the sharp decline in religious identity from the first decade to the second decade of the 21st century: While Christians dropped by nearly 10 million and other faiths increased slightly, those who identified as 'no religion' grew more than 8 million over 10 years.
This also shows a significant change in affiliation being merely a cultural marker, among younger people particularly. More than a third (35 percent) of those over 75 self-identify with the Church of England, whereas only 1 percent of those ages 18-24 do so. In other words, the 'Church of England' — which used to be the default religious category for nonpracticing or none-identifiers — has been simply replaced with 'none.' Moreover, self-identification does not correlate with attendance. In the U.K., for example, less than 1 percent of the entire population worships in the network of Anglican parish churches.
The rise of 'nones,' then, is a strong cultural shift — though there are exceptions to the trend. For example, since the visit of Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, who is now president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Sister Patricia Holland to Pembroke College Chapel in 2018, attendance at worship where I serve in Oxford, England, has grown significantly.
It is helpful to know about 'nones': It reminds us always to find out where people are and start there. I admit that there is sadness for many of us in this: Rejecting religious affiliation can ignore streams of wisdom rooted in the Spirit. It also contributes to conformity to 'none-ness' ('Everyone else is a 'none,' then I must be').
Furthermore, cutting ourselves off from the religious core lays us open to the tyranny of eccentric opinion. For example, the manipulated imagery after the fires in Los Angeles showing devastation surrounding a pasted image of an untouched church or chapel. The faithful are not being offensive or disloyal to call out such practices as propagandist rather than missionary. Such populist, dishonest portrayals of our attitudes, words or works are cited as reasons why 'nones' don't want to belong to institutional religion.
Let's continue to connect lovingly with 'nones,' and listen hard, without any embarrassment about our convictions. For without the center holding, there is a lack of cohesion.
A commanding and profound challenge to reach across vested interests was issued by President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in October 2024, to collaborate and build trust with groups where there seems little common ground. It sounds simple, but we need to work together. No one group can do everything alone; we need dialogue, and to build trust by showing that our institutions can promote broader understanding. This means deeply engaging with 'nones.'
I have to admit that I very much look forward to people who identify as 'nones' asking what faith tradition they might join and how. I can offer practical guidance on the 'how' part, but I do not have the authority to steer anyone else's agency. Our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ responded to one such soul who did seek understanding and counsel to grow. When only 14 years old, Joseph Smith Jr. asked which church to join among the competing denominations of his day. At the instruction of divine personages, he became a 'none.'
'I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong,' Smith wrote of his experience. The founding prophet of the church of which Presidents Holland and Oaks are leaders started as a 'none' for good reason — but he did not stay there. He demonstrated an honest and honorable tradition of not claiming affiliation without having a personal, committed testimony.
The 'none' phenomenon offers something honest and graceful to believers: helping differentiate cultural identity from the task of nurturing an enduring, authentic relationship with God in our 'none' brothers and sisters.
This story appears in the April 2025 issue of Deseret Magazine. Learn more about how to subscribe.
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