{"id":9807,"date":"2012-06-17T11:34:32","date_gmt":"2012-06-17T18:34:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildhunt\/?p=9807"},"modified":"2012-06-17T11:34:32","modified_gmt":"2012-06-17T18:34:32","slug":"cascadian-nones-vs-conservative-christians-in-washington","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildhunt\/2012\/06\/cascadian-nones-vs-conservative-christians-in-washington.html","title":{"rendered":"Cascadian “Nones” vs Conservative Christians in Washington"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Over the years I\u2019ve written a lot about individuals who don\u2019t claim\u00a0adherence\u00a0to any religion<\/a>, dubbed \u201cnones\u201d by journalists and researchers. This group has exploded to around 16% of the population in the United States, and defies easy categorization. What we do know is that their growth is most explosive among younger people<\/a>, and\u00a0that \u201cnones\u201d aren\u2019t anti-religioun per se, simply against what they feel institutionalized religion has become (ie polarized and fixated on culture war issues). Now, thanks to a ballot initiative in Washington state<\/a> on gay marriage, it looks like we might see the first skirmish between socially conservative Christian voters, and this diverse grouping of the non-religious<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Gov. Chris Gregoire signing same-sex marriage law. Photo: Elaine Thompson\/AP<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n

According to the 2010 U.S. Religion Census, more than half of the state\u2019s 6.8 million residents don\u2019t belong to a religious group. Preserve Marriage Washington, the organization behind the gay marriage petition (Referendum 74), is a coalition of community and faith groups, including the Washington State Catholic Conference.\u00a0\u201cAlmost 4.4 million people are unclaimed, so that\u2019s the group, that if they vote, will decide this referendum,\u201d said Patricia O\u2019Connell Killen, editor of \u201cReligion and Public Life in the Pacific Northwest: The None Zone,\u201d<\/a> and academic vice president at Gonzaga University.\u00a0\u201cAny political issue, whether it passes or fails, depends by and large on how the vast majority of these unchurched are persuaded.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In short, those who want to preserve the right for same-sex couples to marry in Washington need to reach out to Cascadian \u201cnones\u201d to win this ballot initiative. What are \u201cnones\u201d in the Pacific Northwest like? According to the authors of\u00a0\u201cCascadia: The Elusive Utopia,\u201d<\/a> they are \u201ceclectically, informally, often deeply \u2018spiritual.'\u201d <\/em>Specifically, New Age and nature-oriented spirituality loom large among \u201cnones\u201d here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cAccording to the just-published \u201cCascadia: the Elusive Utopia.\u201d \u2026 a lot of these \u201cnones\u201d in the Pacific Northwest are actually very spiritual, walking a path of their own making, but not into organized religions and churches<\/strong>. Sociology professor Mark Shibley of Southern Oregon University wrote the lead essay called \u201cThe Promise and Limits of Secular Spirituality in Cascadia.\u201d \u201cThis region is different. The people here are not as connected to religious institutions,\u201d he says. The alternative spirituality here shows itself in two main ways, Shibley notes: \u201cnature spirituality,\u201d such as you see in the secular environmental movement, and the more well-known New Age spirituality, where the gaze is shifted inward.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Normally, whenever same-sex marriage has gone to the ballot boxes, it works against supporters of marriage equality. It is so successful that it has become something of a tactic to boost voter turnout among social conservatives during important election cycles (though that assertion is being questioned<\/a>). This year,\u00a0Washington joins\u00a0Maryland, Maine and Minnesota<\/a> in putting this issue up for a vote. However, we may see a\u00a0reversal\u00a0of fortunes in Washington where a majority of voters believe same-sex couples should be able to get married<\/a>, and where gay marriage rights have bipartisan support. With a 4\u00a0percentage\u00a0point margin, the outcome will almost certainly rest on turnout, and who will be able to motivate their supporters better.<\/p>\n

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Christian adherents as percentage of state population (2010).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Conservative Christians are rightfully praised for their ability in getting out the vote among their supporters. It is how the Religious Right, the Moral Majority, and other permutations of this bloc have been able to wield so much influence in the Republican party, and in politics in general. Washington in 2012 may see the beginning of a challenge to that legendary ground-game, but only if supporters of same-sex marriage know how to reach out to their \u201cnones.\u201d For once, Pagan organizations, New Age institutions, Unitarian-Universalist\u00a0churches, alternative health outlets, and other touch-points for the non-religious demographic in Washington could be vital in mobilizing groups that are traditionally distrustful or apathetic about the political process. Because if Cascadian nones are truly the New Age, nature religion, do-it-yourselfers that researchers assert, then this could be a preview for what a truly post-Christian pluralistic political struggle will look like.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over the years I\u2019ve written a lot about individuals who don\u2019t claim\u00a0adherence\u00a0to any religion, dubbed \u201cnones\u201d by journalists and researchers. This group has exploded to around 16% of the population in the United States, and defies easy categorization. What we do know is that their growth is most explosive among younger people, and\u00a0that \u201cnones\u201d aren\u2019t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,6],"tags":[419,1326,1426,1649,1861,1873,2618],"class_list":["post-9807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-paganism","category-religion","tag-christianity","tag-lgbtq","tag-marriage","tag-nones","tag-politics","tag-post-christian","tag-washington-state"],"yoast_head":"\nCascadian "Nones" vs Conservative Christians in Washington<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Over the years I've written a lot about individuals who don't claim\u00a0adherence\u00a0to any religion, dubbed "nones" by journalists and researchers. 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