Sarah Garrison grew up Catholic, but today she does not consider herself part of any religion. Yet as someone who meditates and prays every day to the "God here in our hearts," she would never call herself an atheist or agnostic and thinks church can play a positive role in society and individual lives.
"Some people need [religion]," said Garrison, 26, who works as a training coordinator for an online news company in Moline, Ill. She mentions her older sister, a Catholic nun, who "couldn't be happier" with structured religious practice.
According to a new report from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, Garrison has plenty of company in her spiritual beliefs and practices.
One in five American adults now have no religious affiliation, according to the report released Tuesday. They include self-described atheists and agnostics, but also a much larger number of people who have no interest in labeling themselves in any way when it comes to their faith or lack thereof. The group, which the report also called the "nones," has shot up to 19 percent from 15 percent of American adults in a Pew survey five years ago.
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