As a writing teacher at University of California, Berkeley, Kaya Oakes (Radical Reinvention) is surrounded by an inclusive community full of young minds searching for meaning and learning to live with doubt. She was raised Irish Catholic: "my love for the church is innate. My family is buried in Catholic graveyards, we went to Catholic schools, and like every other Irish Catholic family in America, we had a dusty photograph of our martyrs RFK and JFK in silhouette hanging in the kitchen." But what most appealed to her about faith was "the social justice lean of my parish community, the courage of the women religious, the relentless messages of a loving God who waits patiently for us."
In February 2014, Oakes identified herself as "an agnostic-leaning believer" and sought responses from people who have discovered a spiritual community beyond the walls of a church and spiritual fulfillment beyond the bounds of traditional orthodoxy. Those responses became The Nones Are Alright (referencing those who check "None" as their religious affiliation--up to one-third of people in their 20s, 30s and 40s according to a 2012 Pew Research study). Respondents have identified as Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, atheist or agnostic at some point in their lives, but now "engage in a kind of spiritual mix and match, blending many traditions and adhering strictly to none." The many perspectives that Oakes candidly presents weigh how religion can be a bastion of judgment, condemnation and political tension, but also a great source of community, solace and structure. --Kristen Galles from Book Club Classics