The American population is undergoing many changes in religious demographics. Religion today looks drastically different from the 1950’s, and even more different from when our nation was founded. While religion always changes over time, currently there is a major shift away from being associated with a religion especially among a certain demographic.

Dr. Anthony Petro, a professor at Boston University and a cultural and religious historian spoke on this change in his lecture to the Honors Society on March 23rd titled “Finding Faith in New Generations, Religion and Politics among Millennials.”

In the beginning of his lecture, Dr. Petro discussed common religious demographics and introduced what is known as “nones,” or the unaffiliated demographic. This is a growing demographic that is strongest with millennials. He explained that this group of people do not associate themselves with religion. They may be agnostic or atheist, or just “nothing in particular” when it comes to religion.

Dr. Petro’s primary source for his research is from the Pew Research Center. A 2014 study compared religious affiliation among different age groups and shows changes between 2007 and 2014. This study surveyed over 30,000 people from across America. Between 2007 and 2014, the “none” demographic has rapidly grown in particular with millennials. As millennials grow up and form identities of their own, many are identifying with being a “none” in terms of religion.

Most Americans self-identify as religious. However, in the past decade, this number has declined. The number of “nones” now outpaces Catholics, and is close to outpacing Evangelicals, the largest demographic. In addition, there has been a decline in religious attendance throughout America among all religions.

“’Nones’ tend to be more liberal, on average, on questions of same-sex marriage, sometimes on questions of abortion, and often about things like environmentalism. However, they are increasing in the GOP,” said Dr. Petro.

Dr. Petro explained that some of the causes in these demographic changes can be traced to cultural and historical events. The first is the “tumultuous 60s and 70s.” During these decades, progressive ideas spread throughout America, The civil rights movement, the Vietnam War and it’s strong opposition among youth, and the more common use of pot, LSD, and other drugs. Another major change during the 60’s and the 70’s was the start of the Sexual Revolution. Divorce became increasingly more common, the gay rights movement grew, the use of birth control became more common, and more people began to have sex before marriage.

This led to two major aftershocks: the rise of the “Religious Right”, and the rise of the “nones.” The Religious Right consisted of Christians who felt that country was going in the wrong and immoral direction. This demographic infused conservative politics, and aligned themselves with the GOP. Those that were sick of religion and politics pulled away in the different direction to form the new demographic, the “nones.”

Another major event was the 1965 Immigration Law signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson. While at the time this was not seen to be very significant, it began immigration growth which led to an influx of immigrants from Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East making America increasingly more diverse.

In addition, the growing use of the internet in the mid 1990s gave people the ability to find more people like themselves through chat sites, blogs, and other forms of media. This has led to people disassociating themselves with mainstream religious demographics.

“The U.S. has long been and remains exceptionally religious, especially compared to our national peers, yet the ways we do religion have changed and do change, said Dr. Petro.”

Dr. Petro made a note that religious attendance is not a good measure for the spirituality of a country. In fact, the number of people who said they felt they were “religious” went up, regardless if they identified with a certain faith group. He also said that many Americans have had a religious or spiritual event take place in their lives. Americans continue to believe in angels, demons, and magic.