Progressive Spirit

The fastest growing religious group in the United States is the "nones," those who claim no religious affiliation.  Does this mean people are no longer religious?  Not so says Gary Laderman, professor of religion at Emory University and editor of the on-line magazine, Religion Dispatches.    People may be exiting organized religion but everything from sports to celebrity, music, sex, and violence can be the focus of religious ritual as well.   He speaks with me about baseball, Oprah, "beliebers" (Justin Bieber), war and more.   Dr. Laderman is the author of Sacred Matters: Celebrity Worship, Sexual Ecstasies, the Living Dead, and Other Signs of Religious Life in the United States.  Read some of his articles about religion in our time at Huffington Post.