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The Rise of the Nones

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COURSE OVERVIEW
The fastest-growing “religious group” in America is the one with no religious affiliation at all. These are the nones—people who check “none” when asked about religion, yet still hold complex beliefs, values, and spiritual longings.
For pastors, leaders, and the curious, this shift raises urgent questions:

  • Who are these people really?
  • Why are they leaving?
  • What do they believe?
  • And how can the Church meaningfully connect with them today?

This four-week class, grounded in the insights and research of The Nones Project, is designed to help Christian leaders understand the culture, motivations, and spiritual imaginations of the nones—so you can minister in ways that are informed, compassionate, and faithful.


ABOUT THE INSTRUCTORS
Dr. Tripp Fuller is the founder and host of the #1 theology podcast, Homebrewed Christianity. As an author, speaker, podcaster, and professional theologian he is committed to bringing the best resources from the academy to the church so we can brew a more robust faith today.

Ryan Burge is professor of practice at the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis. Before that he was an associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University, and was also the graduate coordinator. He has authored over thirty peer-reviewed articles and book chapters alongside four books about religion and politics in the United States. He has written for the New York Times, POLITICO, and the Wall Street Journal. He has also appeared in an NBC Documentary, on the CBS Evening News, as well as 60 Minutes which called him, “one of the country’s leading data analysts on religion and politics.” He served as a pastor in the American Baptist Church for over twenty years, leading First Baptist Church of Mount Vernon, IL for 17.5 years until its closure in July 2024. He has been married to his wife Jacqueline for over eighteen years. They have two boys.

Tony Jones has been elbow-deep in the church world for decades, most notably in the leadership of the Emerging Church Movement, which attempted to reshape and even revolutionize the Protestant church in America at the beginning of the twenty-first century. That was an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to catalyze a change in organized religion that would take account of the millions of Americans who were growing disillusioned with the politics and theology of both the liberal and conservative wings of the church — meanwhile centrist churches virtually disappeared. Now, Jones has turned his attention to the 100 million Americans who have checked out of religion altogether, and he’s particularly interested in how those non-religious Americans continue to make meaning in their lives, and even to seek transcendence.

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Livestreams

0 – The Great Disconnect: When the Pulpit and the Pew Aren’t Speaking the Same Language
Lesson 1 of 5 within section Livestreams. You must become a member to access course content.
1 – Who Are the “Nones”? New Research Reveals 4 Surprising Types
Lesson 2 of 5 within section Livestreams. You must become a member to access course content.
2 – Nones in Name Only
Lesson 3 of 5 within section Livestreams. You must become a member to access course content.
3 – Spiritual but Not Religious
Lesson 4 of 5 within section Livestreams. You must become a member to access course content.
4 – Dones & Zealous Secularists
Lesson 5 of 5 within section Livestreams. You must become a member to access course content.

The Rise of the Nones

COURSE OVERVIEW
The fastest-growing “religious group” in America is the one with no religious affiliation at all. These are the nones—people who check “none” when asked about religion, yet still hold complex beliefs, values, and spiritual longings.
For pastors, leaders, and the curious, this shift raises urgent questions:

  • Who are these people really?
  • Why are they leaving?
  • What do they believe?
  • And how can the Church meaningfully connect with them today?

This four-week class, grounded in the insights and research of The Nones Project, is designed to help Christian leaders understand the culture, motivations, and spiritual imaginations of the nones—so you can minister in ways that are informed, compassionate, and faithful.


ABOUT THE INSTRUCTORS
Dr. Tripp Fuller is the founder and host of the #1 theology podcast, Homebrewed Christianity. As an author, speaker, podcaster, and professional theologian he is committed to bringing the best resources from the academy to the church so we can brew a more robust faith today.

Ryan Burge is professor of practice at the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis. Before that he was an associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University, and was also the graduate coordinator. He has authored over thirty peer-reviewed articles and book chapters alongside four books about religion and politics in the United States. He has written for the New York Times, POLITICO, and the Wall Street Journal. He has also appeared in an NBC Documentary, on the CBS Evening News, as well as 60 Minutes which called him, “one of the country’s leading data analysts on religion and politics.” He served as a pastor in the American Baptist Church for over twenty years, leading First Baptist Church of Mount Vernon, IL for 17.5 years until its closure in July 2024. He has been married to his wife Jacqueline for over eighteen years. They have two boys.

Tony Jones has been elbow-deep in the church world for decades, most notably in the leadership of the Emerging Church Movement, which attempted to reshape and even revolutionize the Protestant church in America at the beginning of the twenty-first century. That was an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to catalyze a change in organized religion that would take account of the millions of Americans who were growing disillusioned with the politics and theology of both the liberal and conservative wings of the church — meanwhile centrist churches virtually disappeared. Now, Jones has turned his attention to the 100 million Americans who have checked out of religion altogether, and he’s particularly interested in how those non-religious Americans continue to make meaning in their lives, and even to seek transcendence.