The Nonverts

Part 1, The Evangelism Gap

Thanks to a recommendation from my dear friend Jonathan Storment, I recently read Nonverts: The Making of Ex-Christian America by Stephen Bullivant. 

Since Nonverts documents so much of the concerns I describe and respond to in Hunting Magic Eels, I wanted to blog through some of my observations about Bullivant's research and analysis.

Today, we start with definitions and trends.

To begin, we all have heard of the "Nones." The Nones are those who check "None" when asked on census surveys to identify their "religion" or "religious preference." As we know, this category, the religiously unaffiliated, those with "no" religious affiliation, has been steadily increasing in the United States. According to Bullivant's count, there are 59 million Americans who identify as "None," roughly one out of four Americans. 

Worse, as you likely also know, this tread is accelerating with every generation. According to Bullivant's data, 11%-16% of the Silent (1928-1945) and Boomer (1946-1964) generations identified as None. Among the Millennial (1981-1996) and Gen Z (1997-2000) generations, the Nones have increased to 35% and 29% respectively.

And yet, Bullivant's book isn't about the Nones. His book is, rather, about a subgroup within the Nones, a group he calls "Nonverts." Who are the Nonverts?

A Nonvert is a person who was raised in a religious tradition but who now identifies as a None. That is to say, a Nonvert is a person who has left the faith. I've heard Nonverts described as the "Dones," those who were raised in church but are now "done" with church. Others words used to describe Nonverts are "apostates" and "deconversion." Thus, Bullivant's coining a new label. Instead of converting to a religion, you are deconverting, leaving faith and converting to being a None. Not a convert, but a Nonvert.

Basically, Nonverts are those who are leaving church.

In short, within the None group there are two subgroups, who Bullivant calls "Cradle Nones" and "Nonverts." Cradle Nones are Nones who were raised without a religion and have remained religiously unaffiliated. Nonverts, by contrast, were raised in a religion and have left that religion to identify as having no religion.

Among the Nones group, then, how many are Cradle Nones versus Nonverts? According to Bullivant's data, the total None group makes up 22% of the US population. Of this None group, 27% are Cradle Nones and 73% are Nonverts. And again, these trends are increasing with each subsequent generation. More and more people are leaving church.

What is the take home point here?

The take home point is that the Nones are mostly made up of Nonverts. The demographic trend in America is that people raised in church are now leaving church. We tend to think that evangelism is taking the gospel to the "unchurched," preaching to the Cradle Nones. But the reality is that most of the Nones have beed "churched." If so, the focus of evangelism needs to shift to the home and the pew. As Bullivant notes, for every Cradle None who coverts churches lose five Nonverts. 

Let us call this the "evangelism gap": For every one convert to your church, you lose five Nonverts.