[Ads-l] Nones (2005)

Mon Feb 3 20:46:18 UTC 2020

Here is a 1970 citation. The list of religious options apparently was
not exhaustive; hence, the 'nones' category may have include some
followers of religion. The text is ambiguous (to me). Did "none" mean
"no religion" or "none of the options listed". The headline used the
word "religionless".

Date: October 25, 1970
Newspaper: Los Angeles Times
Newspaper Location:
Article: Study Gives Profile of Religionless Americans
Author: John Dart (Times Religion Writer)
Quote Page A8, Column 1
Database: Newspapers.com

[Begin excerpt - please double check for errors]
The roughly 2% of persons who have declined in six national Gallup,
polls to identify themselves as Protestant, Catholic or Jew were
studied by two University of Georgia researchers who said the
"religious 'nones' has been a neglected category of study."
. . .
"The 'nones' were also more likely to be male (70%) and to fall in the
20- to 29-year-old category." they added
[End excerpt]

Garson

On Mon, Feb 3, 2020 at 1:29 PM <dave at wilton.net> wrote:
>
> I'm looking for early examples of "nones" or "none" used to refer to people with no formal religious affiliation/identity (includes atheists, agnostics, and "spiritual" people).
>
> The earliest I've found is this from 2005:
>
> Bibby, Reginald and Stuart MacDonald. “Restless expert sees church growth.” The Presbyterian Record, 129.4, Apr 2005, 46.
>
> “Indeed, if it was included in his list of major religious groups in Restless Churches (Table 2.7) the 'religious nones' would rank as the second largest denomination in Canada.”
>
> Bibby wrote a 2004 book "Restless Churches." I'll check that out of the library tomorrow to see if he uses it there. But I'm wondering if anyone has a line on earlier uses. "None" is a devilishly difficult word to search for.
>
> --Dave Wilton
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org