The Four Types
Nones in
Name Only
Who are the Nones in Name Only?
Nones in Name Only (NiNOs) make up about 20% of the non-religious in the United States. Of all the nones, they score the highest on both religiosity and spirtuality measures. A third of them attend religious services at least once a year and half of the NiNos pray every day. These are people who seem to dislike the labels that are attached to traditional religion, but are still generally warm to the idea of faith.
Quick Stats
21% of all nones are NiNOs
32% of NiNOs attend religious services at least once a year
53% of NiNOs pray at least once a day
47% of NiNOs believe in God without a doubt
50% of NiNOs say they trust Religion “Not at All”
Notes on NiNOs
There’s a clear pattern in the data suggesting that a significant number of people who report no religious affiliation still engage in religious practices on a fairly regular basis. We refer to these individuals as NiNos. For instance, over half of them report praying daily—statistically no different than Protestants or Catholics. We suspect that some of these NiNOs may be misclassified—either because they misunderstand the religious affiliation question or because they reject traditional religious labels.
From the Research
How NiNOs self-identify
How NiNOs rate religious and spiritual importance in their lives.
“They aren’t all anti-religious. Most Nones say religion does some harm, but many also think it does some good. Most have more positive views of science than those who are religiously affiliated; however, they reject the idea that science can explain everything.”
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