The Normalization of Non-religion: A Reply to James Lewis

James Lewis challenged the assertion that religious ‘nones’ are becoming more like the general population. The evidence he offers is insufficient to make his case, however: the generational dynamics of religious change are invisible if one takes a cross-sectional snapshot of the entire population, undifferentiated by age. In addition, write-in responses on census and survey forms do not provide a good basis for studying the characteristics of the very large and growing number of people who are non-religious.