Some Stats 4 The Nones (The Religiously Detached) 50 % Pew - PDF document

1 Mission Ready: 
 Engaging a Culture of Doubt Dr. Rich Knopp Program Director, Room For Doubt Professor of Philosophy & Christian Apologetics Lincoln Christian University www.roomfordoubt.com Session Webpage: www.worldvieweyes.org/leaders2019.html 2 Live Survey Questions 3 Some Stats 4 The “Nones” (The Religiously Detached) 50 % Pew Research Center, 2012 and 2014 All Americans 40 % 19 Million INCREASE (56 Million) 30 % 22.8% 19.3% 20 % 15.3% 8.1% 10 % 0 % 1990 2007 2012 2014

5 The “Nones” (The Religiously Unaffiliated) 50 % Pew Research Center, 2012 and 2014 Millennials 36% 40 % 34% 32% 30 % 22% 20 % 11% 10 % 0 % 1990 2007 2012 2014 (25-33) 2014 (18-24) 6 The Nones “All the numbers tell us that if the unaffiliated gathered into a formal religious organization, it would be larger than any Protestant denomination and all Mainline Protestant denominations combined” (Drescher, 6). 7 Nones Atheist 13% Misc. Spiritual but 
 2% Agnostic Not Religious Misc. 17% 21% SBNR Believe in God 37% 68% Neither Sp. 
 Nor Rel. 42% 8 “Spiritual But Not Religious” ✦ Spiritual but NOT SEEKING. ✦ “Are you looking for a religion that would be right for you?” 
 88%: “NO.”

9 The Nones: From Where? ✦ 79% of Nones were raised in some religious tradition. (21% raised unaffiliated). ✦ For each 1 person becoming religious, 4 people become Nones. R R 1:4 Nones 10 Strength of Affiliation 60% N O T S t r o n g A f f i l i a t i o n 50% 40% Strong Affiliation 30% 20% s ) n e N o ( o n a t i i l i A f f o 10% N Schnabel & Bock, in Sociological Science (2017): GSS Data 0% 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 11 Type of Affiliation 70% Non-Evangelical 60% 50% 40% Evangelical 30% 20% ) n e s N o o n ( a t i 10% f f i l i o A N Schnabel & Bock, in Sociological Science (2017): GSS Data 0% 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 12 Change in Childhood Religion by Religious Group % Who Leave % Who Leave % Who Raised As: (2007) (2014) Become Nones (2014) Hindu 16 20 18 Jewish 24 25 18 Catholic 32 41 20 Baptist 40 63 15 Presbyterian 60 66 25 Non-Denom. 56 53 19 Protestant

13 Barna (2018) 20% “Atheist” 13-18 yrs old 15% 13% 10% 7% 6% 6% 5% 0% All Adults Gen X Millennials Gen Z b. 1965- b. 1984- b. 1999- 14 Churched Youth Significantly 
 Can’t Ask Most 
 Felt Like 
 Doubted 
 Pressing Questions 
 Rejecting Their 
 Their Faith in Church Parents’ Faith 50 % 38% 36% 32% 40 % 30 % 20 % 10 % 0 % David Kinnaman, You Lost Me 15 Churched Y outh “Disengaged” in Their Twenties? 59% 70% David Kinnaman, You Lost Me 16 “Why are Teens Leaving the Faith?” 
 (Brian Housman — Lifeway) Shallow belief system No room for doubt Exclusive faith No answers for opposition (science & philosophy) Church is intolerant Church is against science Church is not relevant (personally & professionally)

17 “High-Information” Seekers • Well-educated • High achieving • More time online • More religiously diverse friends See www.projectnextgen.org 18 “High-Information” Seekers Larry Barnett’s “Next Generation Project” “W e found that the presence of doubt much more strongly predicted leaving Christianity for high information seekers …. [ H ] igh information seekers with doubts are about two to four times more likely to disconnect from Christianity than other doubters who are not high information seekers…. [ emphasis added ] See www.projectnextgen.org 19 Some Statements 20 “I'm young, and I shouldn't be worrying about this, but I really want someone to help me know God is truly real. I have believed in God all my life, and I hope to never lose him, but I just have so many doubts. Please help me.” www.roomfordoubt.com

“How could God not accept them?” 
 “How could God not save them?” “Christianity seems so exclusive.” 
 21 “I have been a Christian since I was 8, went to Bible College, and am now in ministry. An intellectual switch was flipped in my mind somewhere around 22 and I can’t shut it off. I’m really struggling to find answers and to know which way to go.” www.roomfordoubt.com 22 I am currently in a pretty sticky situation with my faith right now. I don't know if god exists or not and I don't want to waste my life on something false if He is not real. I also don't want to say that I'm an atheist, because I'm not. I'm just lost. www.roomfordoubt.com 23 Hello! Im Deborah,19 years old and currently going through emotional doubts about God. It scares me so much that I have sleepless nights and panic attacks because I’ve been a christian since childhood… I need my faith back and I need to believe again. www.roomfordoubt.com 24 The Cultural & Theological “Crunch” on Young Christians Cultural: Theological: 
 • Socially connected 
 C like never before. R • Socially sensitive 
 U like never before. • Aware of diversity 
 N like never before. C • Inclusive like never before. H • Aware of “good” non-Christians like never before.

25 Some Strategies 26 Diagnose the Doubts Moral Doubts The “WORST” Doubt? Self Doubts Spiritual Doubts UNEXPRESSED Doubt Intellectual Doubts V olitional Doubts “The prognosis for faith is greatly dependent on the diagnosis of doubt.” – Rich Knopp 27 Dialogue with the Doubters 28 Some Don’ts with Doubters

29 Some Don’ts with Doubters Don’t be so DOGMATIC. 
 Don’t be so SIMPLISTIC. 30 Doubt: A Doorway Deeper BELIEF Greater DISBELIEF 31 G I V E 32 www.ROOMFORDOUBT.com

33 Overview of New Website and Mobile App www.ROOMFORDOUBT.com 34 Mission Ready: 
 Engaging a Culture of Doubt Dr. Rich Knopp Program Director, Room For Doubt Professor of Philosophy & Christian Apologetics Lincoln Christian University www.roomfordoubt.com Session Webpage: www.worldvieweyes.org/leaders2019.html