A study by the Associated Press in May concluded that about 30% (in a poll of 1,680) of respondents do not associate with any sort of organized religion in the United States.  This has been a continuing trend across the country, spanning across decades of polls and research. Pew Research Center estimated that, if the trend of religious “nones” continues at the rate that it’s at, only 35-54% of Americans will be Christian by the year 2070. 

While these statistics were not surprising, it saddened me to hear that people are straying away from their faith. As someone is is deeply religious and unashamed of my faith, it’s disheartening to see the people that I know, especially friends my age who I once went to attended mass with, leave the church behind. Even now, I find it discouraging attending the only Catholic university in the pacific with only about 45% of the student population identifies as Catholic.

Being a young religious person causes me to have issues and make others uncomfortable in a growing non-religious world.

In one particular instance, I was on vacation in Louisiana, sitting by myself on a bench in the park, clearing my head and a man from my grandparent’s neighborhood, around my age approached me. He began to ask me questions about the crucifix I was wearing. He asked if I was a Christian, to which I agreed and said that I was Catholic. He instantly scoffed at me and said something along the lines of “you Catholics are what’s wrong with the world.” He decided to ramble about how Catholics are against abortion, promoting the patriarchy, and others among other similar topics. This person came to judge me simply due to my religion and not my personality.

Being open and honest about being Catholic also means that people occasionally feel that they have to be careful around certain controversial topics, or they just assume my political stance on that controversial topic. At the same time, I also have to be careful about bringing up sensitive topics around others as well as being understanding and sensitive to others’ beliefs. 

I never want to convey to someone that I want to preach to them as my first line of defense, or even as an answer to a question. At times, people might think that me being their friend is my “foot in the door” to trying to convert them to the Christian or Catholic lifestyle. That is simply untrue. Of course, I encourage others to have a relationship with Jesus Christ, but it is never my goal to force an uninterested person to believe.

Even among those other Christians who believe, there have been some challenges with the perspective of faith. One of the most common disputes I find myself in among other Christians is worship styles. Many people my age attend a church (if they do), that has a more performance-based style of worship. This includes elements such as a band, a slideshow, lights of different colors, and testimony from someone in the audience. However, I believe that church should be a reverent experience, almost as if you were in heaven, with Jesus himself. This preference of mine has caused bridges to burn between some of my Christian friends.  

I met my dream partner, he had all the traits that I wanted in a boyfriend. Before we started dating, in the span of getting to know each other, I knew that he was going to be the perfect partner for me. But I always had a nagging thought in the back of my mind, he willingly chose to be unreligious, and that was an absolute deal breaker in my eyes. I had to decide if I was going to have to let the best potential partner go just because of my unwavering religious background. Luckily, he has opened his heart, and he is trying to learn my faith. That is the biggest way I knew he loved me. 

Even though more people become religious “nones” in the United States, I’ll stay true to my faith and “the One.”