Religion on the Mind Religious “Nones” and “Dones” with Ryan Burge (#382)
Feb 23, 2026
Ryan P. Burge, political scientist and author tracking religion in America, offers sharp observations on declining moderate churches and partisan shifts in white Christianity. He outlines the Nuns Project typology of the nonreligious and contrasts well-being across belief types. The conversation also covers rising youth gender identification, its trends, and implications for policy and social change.
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Moderate White Church Spaces Are Disappearing
- Ryan Burge argues the vanishing trend is moderate, cross-pressured white Christian spaces, not religion overall.
- His book traces losing middle churches that blended politics, class, and temperaments, leaving mostly evangelical, Catholic, or none options locally.
Burge's Church Closed After 18 Years
- Ryan recounts his own church (American Baptist) closing after 18 years of pastoring and centers the book on where people like him can now belong.
- The arc of The Vanishing Church follows his church's closure and his search for a suitable faith community.
Partisanship Shapes Modern Religious Identity
- Partisanship now largely drives religious affiliation and clergy ideology, making religion downstream of politics.
- Burge shows white Catholics and mainline Protestants shifted strongly Republican, with priests ordained recently overwhelmingly conservative.
