This fast-growing voting bloc is costing campaigns as 'one of the hardest' to reach: Axios
Political campaigns are struggling to find ways to reach the country's "fastest-growing religious groups" — and it's a costly effort, according to an Axios report on Monday.
Dubbed the "nones," this group has captured the attention of political strategists because they are among one of the largest key voting blocs and people who are unaffiliated with specific religious organizations.
"But without church-based networks, they're significantly more expensive for campaigns to reach and mobilize," Axios reported, adding that campaigns have turned to digital ads, canvassing and speaking with these voters to try and contact them.
"'Nones' are geographically and socially dispersed," according to Axios. They often live in secular regions of the United States, in cities such as Seattle, Portland and in areas of New England. The "'nones' now rival or exceed Christians as a share of the population."
The "nones" represent much of the electorate.
"A record 29% of Americans now identify as religiously unaffiliated — the largest single religious cohort, surpassing Catholics (19%) and evangelical Protestants (23%), per Pew Research Center," Axios reported.
One generation in particular — Gen Z — skews less religious than other generations with nearly 4 in 10 adults ages 18-29 voting unaffiliated, nonpartisan organization Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) reported.