New research shows God-believing ‘nones’ align more closely with religious Americans

Religious nones who believe in God are far more likely than other nones to hold conservative views

University of Nebraska-Lincoln

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Philip Schwadel is a leading researcher on the growing population of religious "nones."

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Credit: Craig Chandler, University Communication and Marketing

Nearly one in three Americans now identify as religious “nones,” and new research from University of Nebraska–Lincoln sociologist Philip Schwadel suggests that this fast‑growing group is far more ideologically diverse than commonly assumed.

In a new study, published in Sociology of Religion, Schwadel found that religious nones who believe in God are far more likely than other nones to have similar policy preferences to their religiously affiliated counterparts. Nones — or those who identify as atheist, agnostic or nothing in particular — have grown from approximately 16% of the population in 2007 to 28% according to the most recent data from the Pew Research Center.

Using data from the General Social Survey, a nationally representative survey of adults in the United States, Schwadel examined 16 measures ranging from attitudes on capital punishment to government spending and political intolerance. God-believing nones are more likely to support school prayer, the death penalty and making pornography illegal, while opposing abortion. They are less likely than other nones to support increased spending on welfare, scientific research, education or to protect the environment.

These findings build on Schwadel’s previous work documenting the growing diversity among the religiously unaffiliated. While Americans increasingly disaffiliate from religion, many still assume the nones represent a single ideological bloc. Schwadel’s new research points out that isn’t true.

“We tend to think of these people as all atheists,” Schwadel, Happold Professor of Sociology, said. “I see in popular discourse, people often conflate the non-religious with atheists, but very few of them are atheists. The biggest takeaway is that we treat these people as one group, but as 28% or so of Americans, they have tremendous diversity.”

Schwadel said the conservatism he found among God-believing religious nones compared to other nones was somewhat surprising.

“I did expect God-believing nones to be different from the other nones, the atheists and agnostics,” he said. “I did not expect it to be this different. I did not expect that in many cases, they are just as conservative on a lot of these issues as religious affiliates who believe in God. Nones who believe in God look more like religious Americans than they do other nones. Many of these people, as this article shows, support the death penalty, oppose abortion, support school prayer.”

And God-believing religious nones are a large subsection. Schwadel noted that among the religiously unaffiliated, 35% believe in God, 28% believe in a higher power, 21% are agnostic and 16% are atheists.

That God-believing nones are growing could have political implications, Schwadel said, and he is exploring the religious language politicians use in future research.

“I think there's a clear implication for Republican politicians,” he said. “I do think that they can appeal to some of these nones who believe in God or even believe in a higher power, whose policy perspectives align with the Republican Party, if they tone down a little bit of the Christian-specific language.”

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Journal

Sociology of Religion

DOI

10.1093/socrel/sraf037 

Method of Research

Survey

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

The Social and Political Perspectives of Believing and Non-Believing Religious Nones

 

Fire-footed rope squirrels identified as a natural reservoir for monkeypox virus

A cross-species transmission event documented in Côte d’Ivoire provides new insights into the spread of mpox in the wild

Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research

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Mpox is a zoonotic disease caused by the monkeypox virus (MPXV) that can lead to severe illness in humans. It regularly spills over from wildlife to humans in West and Central Africa, and some of these spillovers have recently sparked large global outbreaks sustained by human-to-human transmission. In order to prevent such outbreaks effectively, it is crucial to gain a thorough understanding of how the virus circulates in wildlife and what triggers spillover events.

A deadly outbreak among mangabeys

For decades, the researchers now at HIOH have worked closely with the Taï Chimpanzee Project to monitor the health of wild chimpanzees, sooty mangabeys and other wildlife in Taï National Park, Côte d'Ivoire — a long-term commitment that proved essential to detecting this transmission event. In early 2023, the team identified an outbreak of mpox in a well-studied group of sooty mangabeys: About one third of the group showed clinical signs of disease, and four infants died.

Viral genome sequencing revealed that the virus detected in the infected monkeys was nearly identical to an MPXV strain identified in a fire-footed rope squirrel found dead 12 weeks earlier nearby. In an attempt to link both observations, the team analyzed fecal samples from the mangabeys, seeking evidence of pre-outbreak MPXV circulation and contact between the host species. One sample collected eight weeks before the outbreak onset contained DNA from both the virus and the rope squirrel, providing strong evidence of interspecies transmission at this moment. Behavioral data supported these findings. Sooty mangabeys from this group have already been observed catching and eating fire-footed rope squirrels, which provides a direct route for the transmission of viruses.

Squirrels under suspicion: now confirmed

Squirrels have long been suspected as potential reservoirs for MPXV. The first isolation of the virus from a wild animal was from a rope squirrel (Funisciurus anaerythrus) captured in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1985. In 2003, imported squirrels infected with MPXV were also among the rodents suspected to have been the source of an mpox outbreak in pet prairie dog owners in the US. Yet, these animals had never been shown to be directly responsible for an outbreak in another species in nature. The new study is a breakthrough that starts unveiling how the pathogen circulates in the wild.

What this means for human health

As hunting pressure has reduced populations of larger game species, rodents such as squirrels are increasingly hunted and consumed by humans, which likely heightens the risk of human exposure and zoonotic transmission of MPXV. Therefore, confirming the direct involvement of fire-footed rope squirrels in interspecies transmission carries important public health implications.

“Identifying the animal sources of the virus and the exposure routes that lead to inter-species transmission are key steps towards understanding spillover mechanisms and developing effective prevention measures to mitigate the risk of transmission to humans,” says Livia V. Patrono, one of the senior authors at HIOH.

The authors recommend increasing awareness among people who come into contact with squirrels and other wildlife, such as children. In addition, they call for a deeper understanding of MPXV ecology in reservoir species – especially squirrels – as well as in intermediate hosts, particularly non-human primates, in MPXV-endemic regions, to strengthen evidence-based prevention strategies.

One Health approach more relevant than ever

The findings underscore the importance of a One Health approach that recognizes the links between human, animal, and environmental health. “This discovery was only possible thanks to long-term ecological research, continuous health monitoring and systematic sample collection in the Taï National Park,” says Fabian Leendertz, senior author, director of HIOH and co-director of the Taï Chimpanzee Project. “We need to maintain and expand this kind of effort to better understand and hopefully reduce the risks posed by emerging infectious diseases, including mpox – we need to strengthen prevention.”

Josef Penninger, Scientific Director of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, adds: “This study also highlights the value of close cooperation with our African partners. Only through strong, trust-based collaborations with local authorities and research institutions can we effectively tackle zoonotic diseases and make an impact, not just regionally, but globally.”

Study information:

The study was carried out in collaboration with an international team of researchers from the following institutions:

• Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d’Ivoire, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
• Université Peleforo Gon Coulibaly Korhogo, Korhogo, Côte d’Ivoire
• Senckenberg Museum for Natural History Görlitz, Senckenberg Society for Nature Research, Germany
• Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute, Greifswald–Insel Riems, Germany
• Dresden University of Technology, Germany
• Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom
• Institute of Cognitive Sciences, CNRS UMR5229, University of Lyon, France
• German Primate Center, Göttingen, Germany
• Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny d’Abidjan-Cocody, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
• University of Greifswald, Germany
• University Medicine Greifswald, Germany

Within the Helmholtz Institute for One Health, the study involved scientists from the research groups “Ecology and Emergence of Zoonotic Diseases”, “Evolutionary Community Ecology”, and “Pathogen Evolution”.

This press release is also available on our website: https://www.helmholtz-hzi.de/en/media-center/newsroom/news-detail/fire-footed-rope-squirrels-identified-as-a-natural-reservoir-for-monkeypox-virus/.

Further information:

Fire-footed rope squirrels identified as a natural reservoir for monkeypox virus – HIOH News

Homepage of the Taï Chimpanzee Project

Helmholtz Institute for One Health:

The Helmholtz Institute for One Health (HIOH) is dedicated to interdisciplinary research on the interrelationships between human, animal and environmental health. HIOH’s goal is a better understanding of zoonotic diseases, antimicrobial resistance, and the evolution of pathogens as a prerequisite for successful pandemic preparedness and prevention. In accordance with the One Health approach, according to which the health of humans, animals and environment is to be regarded as an inseparable whole, HIOH unites a variety of scientific disciplines and research foci under one roof. www.helmholtz-hioh.de/en

Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research:

Scientists at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig and its other sites in Germany are engaged in the study of bacterial and viral infections and the body’s defense mechanisms. They have a profound expertise in natural compound research and its exploitation as a valuable source for novel anti-infectives. As member of the Helmholtz Association and the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) the HZI performs translational research laying the ground for the development of new treatments and vaccines against infectious diseases. www.helmholtz-hzi.de/en

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Journal

Nature

DOI

10.1038/s41586-025-10086-y 

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

Transmission of MPXV from fire-footed rope squirrels to sooty mangabeys

Article Publication Date

11-Feb-2026

 

Management practices can enhance soil microbiome functions in plant defense

University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences

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A researcher counts aphids on pea plants grown in the laboratory.

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Credit: Elias Bloom

URBANA, Ill. – The soil microbiome is critical for the ecosystem, and agricultural practices that promote microbial diversity can support plant health and help protect against pests. But it is unclear which practices are most beneficial, and what motivates farmers to choose them.

In a new study, researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Cornell University analyzed surveys and soil samples from 85 organic farmers in New York to investigate the interaction between beliefs, management practices, and soil microbiome functions.

“Our goal was to build a socio-ecological model that looks at how farmer beliefs about the soil microbiome mediate their management practices, and how those practices in turn affect ecological responses,” said lead author Elias Bloom, postdoctoral research associate at Cornell.

Co-authors on the study are Clare Casteel, associate professor in the School of Integrative Plant Science at Cornell, and Shadi Atallah, associate professor in the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, part of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at Illinois.

In a previous study, the researchers discussed how farmer beliefs about the microbiome affected their management practices. In this study, they combined information about practices with laboratory analysis of soil samples the farmers provided. They conducted DNA sequencing to determine which species of microbes were present in the soil samples and correlated this with the management practices the farmers reported using.

They also mixed microbiome extracts from the soil samples with potting soil and grew pea plants, then introduced aphids to the plants to evaluate their pest suppressing abilities.

“Conducting these experiments in the field is challenging because so many factors influence plant health. By bringing field soil into the lab, we're able to control these influences and focus on the soil microbiome, helping us build stronger evidence,” Casteel said.

The researchers linked three farming practices with microbiomes that strengthened plant defenses against pests.

Those were no tillage (farmers did not disturb the soil between plantings, or they used permanent, raised beds); cover crops, including cool and warm season grasses such as winter rye, sorghum, millet, and Sudan grass; and targeted drip irrigation or hand watering rather than broadcast irrigation.

One practice that negatively impacted the microbiome and the plants’ defensive abilities: the use of insecticides and pesticides within the last three years.

Finally, compost applications provided mixed results, depending on the starting condition of the microbiome.

“With this network of 85 farmers across the state, we're able to show that some practices have consistent impacts across wide geographic areas, while others are more context dependent,” Casteel said.

As expected, the researchers were able to correlate farmer beliefs about the microbiome with their preferred management practices.

“As economists, we typically survey farmers and ask whether they would adopt a practice given a hypothetical outcome. Here we had the opportunity to link the whole sequences from beliefs to practices to lab-measured microbiome outcomes to economic consequences. This is very novel and exciting,” Atallah said.

“We also typically focus on economic motives for management decisions, but we found that organic farmers’ beliefs about the impact of practices on the microbiome can matter more than economic factors in driving adoption,” he added.

The researchers are currently conducting another survey, giving farmers information on their soil’s microbiome and various options for cost-share payments to see how that affects their willingness to adopt soil microbiome-beneficial practices. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service offers cost-share programs for practices like no-till and cover crops. This ongoing study will shed light on how information on the soil microbiome can affect farmers’ demand for such conservation programs.

“Knowing that the acceptance of these practices and real microbiome outcomes are related to beliefs about the microbiome opens an opportunity for very targeted education and extension programming,” Atallah said.  

The goal is to help farmers better understand the impact of different management strategies and guide them towards practices that can elevate natural forms of pest suppression, he added. 

Ideally, farmers would be able to get individual recommendations based on their soil microbiome composition. However, there are substantial technological hurdles to overcome before a quick laboratory test is feasible. It is also necessary to gain a better understanding of the complexity of microbial composition. The researchers are working on creating biosensors that can be used to perform more rapid microbiome characterization, but these tools are still in development. 

“It is important to keep in mind that pest suppression is just one function of the microbiome. There are still many unknown functions, and we don’t know which of these will be needed in the future as challenges in agriculture continue to arise, so it’s important to conserve microbial diversity,” Casteel said.  

The paper, “Sustainable soil management practices are associated with increases in crop defense through soil microbiome changes,” is published in npj Sustainable Agriculture [DOI:10.1038/s44264-025-00109-6].

Research in the College of ACES is made possible in part by Hatch funding from USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. This work was also supported by a USDA AFRI Postdoctoral Fellowship and a NIFA-USDA Organic Transitions Program grant.

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Journal

npj Sustainable Agriculture

DOI

10.1038/s44264-025-00109-6 

Article Title

Sustainable soil management practices are associated with increases in crop defense through soil microbiome changes