Church Tomorrow?: What the 'Nones' and 'Dones' Teach Us About the Future of Faith

by Stephanie Spellers

“Remarkable . . . a vision for the future that is decidedly  not the way we’ve always done it but instead shaped by the way of Jesus and his love.” –from the foreword by Michael B. Curry, former Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church

The Nones, Dones, Unchurched, spiritual-but-not-religious (SBNRs). Call them what you will, they're a dominant force in American religion and the majority among Millennials and Gen Zers. In Church Tomorrow? Stephanie Spellers presents hard truths about declining religious affiliation in America, paired with stories and wisdom from her interviews with dozens of young people who either grew up with no faith or gave up formal religion. Along the way, she joins hundreds in a yoga circle at San Francisco's Grace Cathedral; in Atlanta, Georgia, she attends Sunday Assembly, a secular congregation that caters to agnostics and atheists; just outside the Twin Cities, she interviews college students exploring crystals and tarot decks; and in New York City she comes home to meet spiritual-but-not-religious young adults who once attended her own church. And that's only the beginning.

As she listens and learns, Spellers Why are younger generations passing on church? What spiritual pathways and communities are they creating? And how could their insights help to shape the future of Christian community? Listen up – today’s young Nones and Dones have a prophecy for the church of tomorrow. 


 

231 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 2, 2025

About the author

STEPHANIE SPELLERS serves as Presiding Bishop Michael Curry’s Canon for Evangelism and Reconciliation. The author of The Church Cracked Open, and The Episcopal Way (with Eric Law), she has directed mission and evangelism work at General Theological Seminary and in the Diocese of Long Island. A native of Kentucky and a graduate of both Episcopal Divinity School and Harvard Divinity School, she lives in Harlem, New York.

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Church Tomorrow? by Rev. Canon Stephanie Spellers (released in early December 2025) is a clear-eyed, research-forward look at what many churches keep whispering about and avoiding: the rise of the “Nones” and “Dones,” and the spiritual landscape Millennials and Gen Z are actually inhabiting. Spellers frames the conversation with real analysis and real human voices, drawing on interviews with young adults who either never attached to church in the first place or walked away after growing up inside it. 

Reading it, I felt like I was being walked through a thoughtfully built case—more lab report than lament—about why the traditional church experience has struggled to hold trust, attention, and belonging. The “highly scientific” feel you noticed is part of the strength: the book doesn’t rely on nostalgia or scolding, and it doesn’t reduce a whole generation to a stereotype. Instead, it listens closely and then asks the church to do the brave thing: take the findings seriously, especially where the stories expose fatigue with institutional performance, hunger for authenticity, and deep sensitivity to hypocrisy and harm. 

For me, the value of Church Tomorrow? is the way it turns “decline” into discernment. It offers a lot of food for thought without pretending there’s a single fix, and it invites leaders and laypeople alike into a posture of humility—less defending, more learning; less blaming “kids these days,” more examining what kind of community we’ve actually built. If you’re willing to be challenged without being shamed, this is the kind of book that can spark better conversations in boardrooms, living rooms, and prayer rooms—and maybe help us build churches that feel like good news again to the people we most want to reach. 

[Natalee Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stephanie Spellers again reads the room for the church. I pray that church leaders - lay and clergy - listen and learn. The insights from the people she interviewed were familiar. I read from the POV of a Millennial who isn't yet done with the church but does seek the same things as my None and Done peers. Let us embrace the Way of Jesus with our whole lives, getting comfortable with new ways of doing things, as we move into the future as God's faithful people.

[Marlynn May · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful!

Stephanie’s words were profound and powerful! We loved the book and will recommend it to friends and family. Wow! Amen!