Week 3

Chapter 2 - What Difference Does It Make if God Exists?

Class Date: September 3, 2025

Introduction

As you read through this chapter, pay attention to the reasons given in the chapter why a belief in God is preferred to a belief in nothing (nihilism).

The main thesis of this chapter is found in these sentences by Dr. Craig: “My claim is that if there is no God, then meaning, value, and purpose are ultimately human illusions. They’re just in our heads. If atheism is true, then life is really objectively meaningless, valueless, and purposeless, despite our subjective beliefs to the contrary.”

A video that describes the thesis of this chapter can be found here - The Absurdity of Life Without God | William Lane Craig - YouTube

My Approach to this Chapter - The Rise of the Religious “Nothing in Particulars”

Rather than discussing the contents of this chapter, I would like us to focus on something else. As stated above, the thesis of this chapter is that “if atheism is true, then life is really objectively meaningless, valueless, and purposeless, despite our subjective beliefs to the contrary.” But for our discussion of this chapter, I would like for us to focus on the opposite: why a life with God is meaningful, of value, and has purpose.

But before we do that, I’d like to provide some information about a group of people in the United States who don’t see any reason to have a relationship with God, or if they do, they are not affiliating with a church or a faith tradition. These people are known as the religious “nones” and a subset of them are known as the “nothing in particulars.”

Let me provide some background to help us understand who this segment of the American population is.

Questions You Have

As you are reading the material below, try to be curious and inquisitive. Generate questions or ideas related to what you are reading. In the handout, Week 3: Chapter 2 - What Difference Does It Make? write or type your thoughts.

Faith Traditions

In his book, The Nones: Where They Came From, Who They Are, and Where They Are Going, Second Edition, Ryan P. Burge describes the seven religious traditions in the United States - evangelical Protestants, mainline Protestants, Black Protestants, Catholics, Jews, observants of other Faith groups (e.g., Hindus, Buddhists, Mormons, etc.), and the nonaffiliated (the “nones”).

Note: The page references to quotes found on this webpage are from the Kindle version of the book, The Nones: Where They Came From, Who They Are, and Where They Are Going.

Note: In the following video, Burge describes much of what is in the book, The Nones - Ryan Burge--Understanding the Religious Nones in American Society - YouTube

Evangelical Protestants are considered members of the Southern Baptist Convention, Assemblies of God (as well as other Pentecostal traditions), the Free Methodist Church, and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. In a 20-year period, the proportion of evangelical Protestants has decreased about 2 percent.

While evangelicals are considered more conservative, the mainline Protestants are considered more moderate. The largest denominations are the United Methodists, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Episcopal Church, the American Baptist Church, the Disciples of Christ, and the United Church of Christ. From 1972 until 1983, the mainline Protestants were the largest religious tradition in the United States. But in a period of just 12 years, from 1976 to 1988, mainline Protestants went from 31 percent of the population to 19 percent. After that, the decline slowed down so that in 2004, they were 15 percent of the population, and then in 2016 they were 10 percent of the population.

In the mid-1980’s, Black Protestants were almost 10 percent of the American population. Now, 6 percent of Americans are Black Protestants. Interestingly, while in 1980, just 5 percent of Black Americans said they were religiously unaffiliated, the number of religiously unaffiliated rose to 21 percent among Black Americans in 2018, which is almost the same trend as the rise of the religiously unaffiliated (the “nones”) among Americans overall.

The percentage of Catholics among Americans was relatively stable between 1972 to the mid-2000’s, with them constituting between 25 and 27 percent of the population, but that number declined to 23 percent in 2018.

American Jews made up about 3 percent of the American population in 1972 and by 2018, the number declined to 1.7 percent. With those small numbers, the difference is not statistically significant.

In the mid-1980’s, about 3 percent of the American population belonged to other faith traditions, but by 2021, they made up about 6 percent of the American population. There are a variety of reasons for this growth. Mormons have grown about 1.5 percent each year. Another factor is the increase in immigrants, particularly from Asia, which bring with them their tradition of Hinduism, Buddhism or Muslim affiliation. Burge also points out that additionally, “more and more Americans are rejecting traditional labels like Protestant, Catholic, or Christian and are instead saying that the are merely spiritual, a choice that puts them in the ‘other faith tradition’ category” (p.24).

The Nones

Burge points out that, “of the six religious traditions that were detailed in this chapter, five are smaller today than they were in 1972. Just one—other faith traditions—is larger, and the increase there is just 2 percentage points. Between 2016 and 2018, those without religious ties rose 1.5 percentage points. The growth has not always been so exponential. For instance, from 1972 to 1990 the rate of increase was a total of 2 percentage points. However, something changed from 1991 to 1996 when the share of the nones jumped from 6 percent to 12 percent. To put it bluntly, 5 percent of the population disaffiliated in a five-year period. From that point forward, the nones have enjoyed what venture capitalists have called 'hockey stick' growth.” ”With very few exceptions, the nones have grown consistently year on year since the mid-1990s, and it would appear that there is no end in sight” (pp.25-26).

Then Burge rhetorically asks, “So where have the nones come from? The easy answer is mainline Protestant Christianity. As previously noted, mainline Protestants have declined from 30 percent of the population to just 10 percent in about four decades. It would be convenient to claim that this explains the entirety of the rise of the nones, but that would be too simplistic. Consider the fact that evangelicals were 30 percent of Americans in 1993 but are now 22 percent. That eight-percentage-point drop has to affect another part of the bathtub as well. Couple this with the fact that Black Protestants, Catholics, and Jews have seen small declines as well, and we begin to see that the religiously unaffiliated have come from a variety of sources—not just moderate Protestants” (p.26).

Burge explains that there are a number of religious surveys with varying techniques so it is difficult to get a precise measurement of what percent of Americans are religiously unaffiliated, but he states that when he is asked in an interview what percentage of Americans are religiously unaffiliated, he explains that the most statistically sound answer is “about 30 percent” (p.30).

The Nones: Atheists, Agnostics, and “Nothing in Particulars”

The Religious Nones are made up of three groups: atheists, agnostics, and the “nothing in particulars.”

According to the Pew Research Center, approximately 28% of U.S. adults are religiously unaffiliated.

Atheists

Atheists make up about 6 percent of the adult population in the United States. They constitute about 20% of the religious nones.

Agnostics

As Burge explains, "Often agnostics will use the language and construction of reason or scientific inquiry to indicate that because there can be no irrefutable evidence for God’s existence, it would be improper for anyone with this worldview to say that God does or does not exist. Instead, agnostics are open to the possibility that either conclusion may be proven empirically true" (p.113).

Like atheists, they make up about 6 percent of the American adult population.

Nothing in Particulars

Burge states, "This group might be the most consequential religious group in the United States, and no one is talking about them the way they talk about atheists or agnostics (p.114).

In distinguishing individuals known as "nothing in particular" from atheists and agnostics, Burge explains, "Secular individuals have left behind a religious worldview and now utilize a paradigm that is based on logic and science to guide them through life. A statement that a secular person would agree with is, “Factual evidence from the natural world is the source of true beliefs. On the other hand, a nonreligious person is defined by what they are not. They don’t go to church, they don’t pray, they don’t believe that religion is important in their life, but they don’t adopt a secular outlook on life either. While seculars have traded in a religious outlook for a secular one, the nonreligious have attached themselves to nothing—they are seemingly floating through life without the scaffolding provided by a consistent worldview" (p.114).

The graph below is from the Pew Research Center, but if you want to give someone a quick overview of how the three groups of nones (atheists, agnostics, and nothing in particulars) compare to each other in terms of their numbers, Burge states, "If all the nones were represented by just five people, one of them would be an atheist, another one would be agnostic, and three of them would be nothing in particulars. That clearly doesn’t fit the image most people have of what the nones look like" (pp.114-115).

Relating to the Nothing in Particulars

Here are some parts from the book, The Nones, to ponder:

"People who grew up in faith communities but left them when they moved into adulthood all have a story to tell. Some of those stories are not that enlightening. The church just didn’t work for them, and they saw no benefit in regular attendance. Others left for reasons that are much more instructive. Whatever their motives, we should be seeking out people willing to tell their stories, inviting them to tell us, and listening—really listening—to them" (p.179).

Burge suggests that "I think many Christians have a hard time putting themselves in the shoes of the person who left church and never came back or those who never made the connection in the first place. They don’t recognize that to belittle, minimize, or try to explain away the stories of those who walked away or never connected to a church home is to fail to understand that not everyone comes to faith the same way we did, and people do not stay (or leave, or stay away) for the same reasons we do either" (p.180).

More Recent Research - The Four Types of Nones

In more recent research since the writing of the book, The Nones: Where They Came From, Who They Are, and Where They Are Going, Second Edition, Ryan Burge wrote an article titled, The Four Types of Nones in which he described four types of nones: NiNos (Nones in Name Only), SBNRs (Spiritual But Not Religious), the Dones, and the Zealous Atheists.

Burge explains that most nones don't fit completely into one of these categories but most are probably primarily rooted in one of the four types.

NiNos (Nones in Name Only)

Making up 21% of the religious nones, these individuals consider themselves to be religious but they don't consider themselves as part of a religious group. Almost three-fourths of them indicate that their religious affiliation is "nothing in particular."

"One third attend a house of worship at least once a year, over half of them say that they pray on a daily basis and a similar percentage say they believe in God without a doubt." - from The Four Types of Nones

SBNRs (Spiritual but Not Religious)

This group was the largest among the nones in Burge's sample, constituting 36% of the nones. "These people are exactly what you would think they would be: deeply skeptical of religion but highly interested in spirituality." - from The Four Types of Nones

On scores of religiousity, they scored extremely low. "For instance, 93% of them describe their church attendance as seldom or never. When asked about prayer, nearly 9 in 10 SBNRs say that they hardly ever pray. And it’s hard to find an SBNR who has a strong belief in God. Just 5% said that they believe in God without a doubt. They are much more likely to fit in the “I believe in some Higher Power” category." - from The Four Types of Nones

About three-fourths of the SBNR's say they do not trust religion.

They explore spirituality through practices like walks in nature, crystals, yoga, and meditation.

Statistics about the SBNRs (Spiritual but Not Religious)

Beliefs

Here are some other interesting statistics (taken from the Pew Research Center) about the SBNRs:

Other interesting tables about the SBNRs are below.

Americans who are SBNRs are less likely than religious Americans to say that believe in heaven or hell (54% vs 93%) or hell (40% vs 83%).

Demographics

"Compared with religious adults, SBNRs are relatively young (58% of adult SBNRs are under age 50, compared with 45% of religious Americans) and more likely to identify as Democrats or Democratic-leaning independents (60% vs. 39%)."

"Demographically, Americans who are neither spiritual nor religious stand out for being comprised predominantly of men (60%)."

Note: In the following tables, the NET religious are people who say they think of themselves as religious or they consider religion very important in their lives.

Religious Affiliation

Although the majority of the SBNRs (54%) are religiously unaffiliated, there is a still a sizable percentage (45%) who say they affiliate with a religious group.

You'll also notice that among the religiously unaffiliated (the Nones), the largest group is the "nothing in particulars."

Spiritual Practices

The percentage of SBNRs who say they meditate at least a few times a month is roughly the same as the percentage among those who are both religious and spiritual.

Of course, biblical meditation is different than secular meditation or mindfulness meditation.

Side Note: Two books that I have recently purchased but have not read yet may be of interest to some of you. One of them is God’s Battle Plan for the Mind: The Puritan Practice of Biblical Meditation by David W. Saxton, . The other one is Meditation and Communion with God: Contemplating Scripture in an Age of Distraction by John Jefferson Davis. I'd encourage you to click on the links to read their description and see if these books might interest you.

Here are some videos that discuss biblical meditation and the problem with mindfulness meditation:

Dones

As Burge puts it, the "dones" are "quite literally, done with religion entirely" (The Four Types of Nones - by Ryan Burge.

They make up one-third of all those who are non-religious.

Unsurprisingly, just 2% of them attend a house of worship at all and 99% of them say they don't pray at all, and it's difficult to find any of them who say they have a certain belief in God.

To contrast their belief with other groups regarding the statement, "When I die, my existence ends," 26% of the NiNos agreed, 39% of the SBNRs, and 77% of the Dones agreed.

Zealous Atheists

This group constitutes the smallest percentage of the nones - 11%. While members of the other groups of nones don't typically try to encourage others to leave religion, this isn't true of the zealous atheists.

Reflection Questions & Think-Pair-Share

Go to the Handout for Week 3: Ch. 2 - What Differences Does It Make? - Google Docs and either write in or type in your thoughts to these questions. We'll share our thoughts with each other in a think-pair-share activity.
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  1. What are Your Thoughts on How to Interact with the Nones in Name Only (NiNos) and the Spiritual but Not Religious (SBNR)? How would you engage them to get them interested in Christianity?
    • Nones in Name Only (NiNos) - consider themselves to be religious but don't associate with a religious group
    • Spiritual But Not Religious (SBNRs)- interested in spirituality but skeptical of religion
  2. Is it possible that some of the Nones have an incorrect view of Christianity or something that happened in their life to cause them to not accept Christianity?
  3. What are some characteristics of a Christian that a religious "none" would notice that would make them attracted to Christianity?
  4. What are some misconceptions that some people have about what Christianity is?
  5. Suppose someone from another country, who has not been influenced by American culture and society, learns you are a Christian. They ask you the following questions. How would you respond?
    1. What is Christianity?
    2. How is Christianity different from other religions?
    3. They have heard that Christians “get saved.” And they’ve heard that Christians go to church on Sunday, pray, and read the Bible. They ask you if that’s what makes a person a Christian. What do you say to them?

Things To Do Before Next Week's Session

  1. Read Chapter 3 - "Why Does Anything At All Exist?"
  2. Go to Google Docs and access the handout for next week's class - Week 4 - Chapter 3 - "Why Does Anything At All Exist?"
    • For instructions on how to save the file to your Google Drive or if you want a copy but don't have a Google account, go to Handouts.

** Email me at thecaseforchristianity2025 at gmail.com (put the @ symbol in place of the "at") if you have any questions during the week. (Notice that there is the word "the" at the beginning of the email address - thecaseforchristianity2025.) I am pretty quick at responding to emails so check your email soon after you have emailed me to see if I have responded.

Digging Deeper

The following is a list of books, videos and online articles to consider for further reading and is not necessarily an endorsement.

Books

Articles

Upcoming Online Class: The Rise of the Nones

Ryan Burge Videos

Ryan Burge Writings

Pew Research Center

Spiritual Yearning Research

Articles