Maine's Unique Spiritual Journey

Maine stands out as one of the least religious states in the U. S. , but this doesn't mean its residents lack spiritual beliefs. In fact, many Mainers are exploring alternative paths to find meaning and connection. Take Camilla Norsworthy, for example. She grew up in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but never felt a strong connection to the faith. After moving back to Maine, she discovered Reiki, a Japanese healing technique that involves channeling energy flow in the body. This experience was transformative for her, leading her to become a Level 3 certified Reiki practitioner and launch her own practice in September 2024. Norsworthy's story is not unique. Many Mainers are finding spirituality outside of organized religion. Roughly one in five Mainers now identify as Evangelical Protestants, but the share of Mainers who don’t identify with any particular religion could surpass 50 percent. The Nones Project, a research effort to describe non-religious Americans, or “nones, ” has found a wide variability in religiously unaffiliated Americans’ beliefs. The project categorizes non-religious Americans into four groups: Nones in Name Only (NiNOs), disengageds, zealous secularists and spiritual but not religious (SBNR), the largest share. Maine ranks low on religious metrics, but slightly higher on spirituality. In three out of four religious metrics from Pew’s 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study, Maine ranked in 48th or 49th out of 51. However, nearly half of all religious nones still consider themselves spiritual or say spirituality is very important in their lives. Maine came in 38th for its residents’ likelihood to do spiritual activities — visiting a nature spot, listening to music, exercising, looking inward, practicing yoga or meditating for spiritual reasons — at least once a week, its highest ranking on any metric.The U. S. Religion Census shows that Catholicism and Mainline Protestantism in Maine have declined from their peaks decades ago. Evangelical Protestant churches, meanwhile, reported double the adherents in 2020 as in 2000. Muslim adherents, who weren’t included in the religion census prior to 2000, grew from less than one adherent per 1, 000 Mainers to roughly 12 adherents per 1, 000 Mainers in 2020. New England has historically had large contingents of Catholics and Mainline Protestants. Part of why the region is one of the least religious in the country now is that those traditions have aging congregations, while the Evangelical faiths that are growing nationally are concentrated in other parts of the country. Evangelical groups including the Southern Baptist Convention have grown in Maine in the past couple decades, though, in part due to intentional church planting efforts. Despite the religious decline of the past couple decades, a recent analysis by Pew Research found that the falloff has slowed nationally since the COVID-19 pandemic. Conservative Christian organizations have pointed to a religious revival among young Americans, particularly in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, though Pew’s most recent report found “no clear evidence” of a “nationwide religious resurgence” in the data. Norsworthy sees a demand for spaces and events that cater to spiritual needs for those who don’t believe in any one religion. She has connected with many of her Reiki clients online, where she says her posts about spirituality can reach thousands of people. This past summer, Norsworthy held three different spiritual events, including a learning session about Reiki, a sound bath and an event with a tarot card reader and a medium, garnering crowds of a half dozen to a dozen people — not many, she said, but a lot for rural Maine.