Explaining Religious Effects: Nones as an Explanatory Tool

• In Event: 341 - Section on Sociology of Religion Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 09. Evangelical Affiliation and Non-Affiliation

Abstract

The increasing number of “religious nones” across the western world has prompted increased research interest among sociologists of religion. More than being a trendy niche sub-subfield, however, I argue that the study of religious nones—and in particular, comparisons among the formerly, currently, and never religious—has the potential to clarify certain theoretical questions that have been a consistent feature of nearly all attempts to “explain” the effects of religion on social outcomes, including the effects of religion in non-religious spheres. To test the argument I develop a case study using data from the first wave of the European Social Survey, with which I create models that predict the likelihood of contributing to humanitarian aid organizations by religious (non) affiliation.

Author

• Michael Lee Wood, University of Notre Dame