The growing problem of the "nones"

"I guess in the future this might have to be a voting block which is talked about more. Right now, we have the black vote, the brown vote, the Jewish vote and so forth making up the Democrat ranks. I guess we now need to also consider the "none" vote. Sad as it may be, that is something we must address." 

Leave it to Pew Research. Pew always manages to find the sometimes-hidden trend lines. Recently, I was trying to find out information on why (it seems like) many Democrats are not as faith based as Republicans. I mean, was it my imagination, or is the Democrat Party really the party who "booed God"? So, I did some digging.

The first thing I found was the social trending of "nones". "Nones" is a word I have heard in church as of late. It simply means people who have "none" when it comes to any religious faith. This can be atheists, agnostics, and "others". What is disturbing about this group, is that it is the fasting growing group of either faith-based believers or non-believers. How much so? According to Pew, that group is 28% (and growing). In other words, about 1/4 of all Americans fall into that group.

What does that have to do with politics? Again, Pew to the rescue. In the 2020 presidential election, 72% of the "nones" polled were going to vote for the Democrats. That is 4% higher than that number was in the 2016 presidential election. Now we are starting to see what the problem is for the Republican Party.

If these numbers are true, and 1/4 of all Americans are in the "none" category, and 3/4 of those "nones" vote Democrat - that is a huge number. But there is more to this story which I cannot yet figure out. It is the "why". First, why are there so many Americans who are not tethered to a faith? Specifically, Christianity? The next question is why is this large number of Americans siding with the Democrats? Is it the permissiveness of Democrats? The anarchy? What is it? 

Looking ahead, if this number continues to rise, it could spell tough times for the red team. But more than that, it is really bad for the Kingdom. I know our pastor has mentioned many times that 80% if the folks in our seemingly normal middle-class area - are unchurched. That is a huge problem that many churches are trying to address. 

I guess in the future, this might have to be a voting block which is talked about more. Right now, we have the black vote, the brown vote, the Jewish vote and so forth making up the Democrat ranks. I guess we now need to also consider the "none" vote. Sad as it may be, that is something we must address.