Mike Dulak grew up Catholic in Southern California, but by his teen years, he began skipping Mass and driving straight to the shore to play guitar, watch the waves and enjoy the beauty of the morning. "And it felt more spiritual than any time I set foot in a church," he recalled.
Mike Dulak sits for a portrait in his mandolin workshop in Rocheport, Mo., Friday, Sept. 8, 2023.
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An aerial view of the small town of Rocheport, Mo., Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023.
A young girl jumps to touch the doorway to the sanctuary of First Baptist Church in Mt. Vernon, Ill., Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023.
A group of friends and freshmen at the University of Missouri, Sylvia Debruzzi, left, Sarah Woods, center, and Emma Komoroski, right, who all identify as formerly religious, but currently unaffiliated, laugh after having their photo taken while walking through campus Friday, Sept. 8, 2023, in Columbia, Mo.
Pastor Ryan Burge, an associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University and author of "The Nones," a book on the growing number of religiously unaffiliated Americans, poses for a portrait at at First Baptist Church in Mt. Vernon, Ill., Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023.
Gail Farnham, longtime parishioner of First Baptist Church, rests her hands on her Bible as she follows along during the sermon given by pastor Ryan Burge in Mt. Vernon, Ill., Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023.
Children talk with Pastor Ryan Burge, right, an associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University.
Roughly a dozen people attend pastor Ryan Burge's Sunday service at First Baptist Church in Mt. Vernon, Ill., Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023.
Pastor Ryan Burge, an associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University and author of, "The Nones," a book on the growing number of religiously unaffiliated Americans, preaches a sermon at First Baptist Church in Mt. Vernon, Ill., Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023.
Photos from AP's special report on 'The Nones'
A Lebanese Armenian of Christian heritage, Talar Demirdjian, poses for a picture, in Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023. The role of sectarian divisions in fueling conflicts in religiously diverse Lebanon is one reason Demirdjian kept her distance from religion. Demirdjian said that when it comes to religion, "I identify as I don't care… I don't even think about it enough to tick a label." (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A group of friends and freshmen at the University of Missouri, Sylvia Debruzzi, left, Sarah Woods, center, and Emma Komoroski, right, who all identify as formerly religious, but currently unaffiliated, laugh after having their photo taken while walking through campus Friday, Sept. 8, 2023, in Columbia, Mo. Statistics show that the nones, or religiously unaffiliated, are growing in every age group, but especially among young adults. More than four in 10 of those under 30 are nones – a close second to Christians. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Tamar Shabtai poses for a photo at her home in Mevaseret Zion near Jerusalem, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023. Shabtai, 29, who grew up in a religious neighborhood in Jerusalem, is among the thousands of young people who leave Israel's ultra-Orthodox community each year. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Mike Dulak sits for a portrait in his mandolin workshop in Rocheport, Mo., Friday, Sept. 8, 2023. Dulak does not associate with any religious group and self-identifies as "nothing in particular" when asked about his beliefs. He is part of the largest growing group of nonbelievers in the United States today, as nearly one in six adults claim the label "nothing in particular" according to the Associated Press- NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
An atheist looks over the river Yobe from a broken bridge in Gashua Nigeria Tuesday, July 11, 2023. Nonbelievers in Nigeria said they perennially have been treated as second-class citizens in the deeply religious country whose 210 million population is almost evenly divided between Christians dominant in the south and Muslims who are the majority in the north. Some nonbelievers say threats and attacks have worsened in the north since the leader of the Humanist Association of Nigeria, Mubarak Bala, was arrested and later jailed for blasphemy. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)
Ana Ottobre, right, and Aldana Mendez, smile at each other in Villa Carlos Paz, Argentina, Wednesday, July 19, 2023. Both women feel tarot guides their life, as they identify as spiritual but not religious. In the pope’s homeland of Argentina, Catholics have been renouncing the faith and joining the growing ranks of the religiously unaffiliated. Commonly known as the “nones,” they describe themselves as atheists, agnostics, spiritual but not religious, or simply: “nothing in particular.” (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Andrés Parrado poses for a photo with a framed picture of Argentine tango singer Carlos Gardel in Montevideo, Uruguay, Saturday, July 22, 2023. “He was like the Jesus of my childhood,” said Parrado, an architect and tango dancer, who wears slicked back hair like his idol and praises his discipline, generosity and resilience. “I venerate him as an ideal of an artist and a human being.” Parrado identifies himself as agnostic and is part of the growing ranks of the religiously unaffiliated in Uruguay.
Juan Castelli sits on a staircase at a square in Montevideo, Uruguay, Saturday, July 22, 2023. Castelli was raised in a Catholic household, but has been an atheist since the age of 15. Uruguay, has a long history of secularization that dates to the early 20th century. Today, more than half of its population identify as atheist, agnostic or religiously unaffiliated – the highest portion in Latin America. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Pablo Robles leads a spiritual therapy session in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sunday, June 18, 2023. Robles distanced himself from his Catholic faith after a religious trip to the Vatican when he was a teenager and now uses meditation and his music background to help people connect spirituality outside organized religion. In the pope’s homeland of Argentina, Catholics have been renouncing the faith and joining the growing ranks of the religiously unaffiliated. Commonly known as the “nones,” they describe themselves as atheists, agnostics, spiritual but not religious, or simply: “nothing in particular.” (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
Former Uruguayan President Jose “Pepe” Mujica pauses during an interview, in Montevideo, Uruguay, Saturday, July 22, 2023. Mujica is Uruguay’s best-known atheist and “none.” Uruguay has a long history of secularization that dates to the early 20th century. Today, more than half of its population identify as religiously unaffiliated – the highest portion in Latin America. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
