1 in 5 Americans Identifies as 'Spiritual but Not Religious,' Pew Research Finds

The Pew Research Center recently released the results of their “Spirituality Among Americans” survey. And the results highlight a trend we’ve been seeing for years—the rise of the “spiritual but not religious.” These are individuals (mostly younger people) who don’t identify with any particular religion or faith, but who believe themselves to be “spiritual,” usually pulling from a variety of religions to create a personalized belief system.

So, how many of these “spiritual but not religious” individuals are there? Well, the survey broke respondents into four groups:

48% “identified themselves as both spiritual and religious.”
22% said they are “spiritual but not religious.”
21% claimed to be “neither spiritual nor religious.”
10% identified as “religious but not spiritual.”

What do all these categories really mean? Well, consider that a majority of those who identify as both spiritual and religious “believe in the God of the Bible” (84%) but only 20% of the “spiritual but not religious” Americans do. Instead of claiming faith in the one true God, nearly three-quarters of them think there is “some other higher power or spiritual force in the universe.”

So how do we reach these “spiritual but not religious” individuals with the gospel? First, we must realize that many people are interested in spiritual things—and that makes sense! God has put eternity in their hearts, and they know there’s a God, even if they reject the biblical God. They’re searching for answers but looking in all the wrong places. So don’t be afraid to start spiritual conversations with people—they are looking, and the answers they need are in God’s Word! Romans 1 tells us God made it evident to all that he is the Creator.

It’s also a reminder that we can’t just start with Jesus for many people. They have no belief in or even concept of the biblical God. Instead we need to start the way God does—in Genesis! We need to help people see God as the Creator, the one true God who made everything. We need to help people understand the fall and how sin entered creation and that we’re all sinners (using God’s law as a mirror, as our friends over at Living Waters do, can be helpful for getting people to realize that they too are sinners). Then, once they understand the one true God and our sin problem, we can introduce them to Jesus and what he did for us. After all, the good news only makes sense if you understand the bad news first!

Young people have been fed the lie of secularism and atheism, but many are now realizing how empty it is and are turning to other things for meaning, purpose, and hope. The problem is they are turning to other broken cisterns that cannot provide the living water they desperately need! The only person who can supply living water is Jesus Christ through His death on the cross for our sins and resurrection from the grave.

So get out there and tell people about His free offer of salvation!