ABSTRACT
A portion of religious “nones,” for instance those who tick “none” on survey questions asking about their religion are individuals who, while not affiliating themselves with a given religion, nonetheless hold views and engage in practices that might well be considered “religious,” on some plausible definition of the term. Robert Bellah is a conservative religious critic who would prefer that people return to organized religious folds, in particular Christian ones. Davie is a sociologist and, in line with mainstream sociological method, she does not pass evaluative judgment on the religious trends she identifies and describes. The individualized religious market has often been judged unfavorably, on the other hand, by those who favor more conservative approaches to religion. They evaluate views one by one rather than wanting to slot themselves into a school or become followers of a creed.
