The Deconversion of Millions – The Age of the Nones

I don't think it's that people have changed their beliefs so much, it's more that they are no longer afraid to tell you they don't have have such crazy believes like when they drink wine in church it is transformed into blood just before they swallow it.

So why aren't people so afraid any more to tell what they truly believe? Because there are more people like that around them and, crucially they KNOW there are more people like that around them.

It's not about what you believe, it's about what you believe other people believe. Depends on whose asking. A good development I would say.

Feels too simplistic to blame the Internet, as the linked article does (positing that the none camp took off after 1992, when Internet started to gain higher adoption). After all, the chart shows consistent stats for non-Christian religious adherents who youd expect to be impacted in the same way.

Perhaps its the relentless drumbeat of awful, truly awful abuse scandals. Eg in the Southern Baptist Church:

When the Right Ignores Its Sex Scandals https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/28/opinion/pressler-sex-scan...