ITEMS OF INTEREST December 6, 2010 Issue

ITEMS OF INTEREST

with contributions from Mollie Ziegler Hemingway, Oswald Pereira, Tom Krattenmaker

MOST OF MY FACEBOOK FRIENDS are clear about their religious views. They identify as Lutheran, Catholic, or atheist. I also have friends who view their religion as a canvas of self-expression. ... My cousin tells her online friends, "I'm spiritual, not religious ... and I enjoy checking out European cathedrals."

She's not alone. The number of people who self-identify using the long-popular phrase "spiritual but not religious" is still growing. In 1998, 9 percent of American adults told the General Social Survey they were spiritual but not religious. By 2008, it had risen to 14 percent. Among those aged 18 to 39, the increase was even more dramatic, and 18 percent now say they are spiritual but not religious.

The growth is not because people are less likely to identify as religious, but because nonreligious people are more likely to say they are spiritual, says Duke sociologist Mark Chaves....

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