The rise of non-denominational Protestant Christianity

 I used to think that belonging to an organized denomination provided a certain level of protection against false teaching. Brother was I wrong. As I make the long drive to our small Anglican parish, I pass many churches along the way. I have noticed an increasing number that identify as "non-denominational".  While I am sure that many are keeping the Apostolic faith, I worry about how many will go the way of the Episcopal sect (or cult as pewster-son would say), the Evangelical Lutherans, the United Methodists, and some of our Presbyterians. The bad reputation that that the old mainlines earned must be part of the reason for the rise of the "nons", but whatever the reason, the nons are gaining ground.

This report from Get Religion gives us some numbers, 

In 1972, less than 3% of all American adults indicated that they were non-denominational. That share has only risen from there. 

In the 1970s and 1980s, the growth rate was undoubtedly small. It took until 1996 for the share of Americans who were non-denominational to surge past 5%. But from that point forward that line has only gotten steeper.

The Nons niche reached 7.5% of the population in 2004, then 10% of the sample by 2012. The most recent data says that nearly 13% of all adults in the United States are non-denominational Protestant Christians. There are more Nons in the U.S. today than mainline Protestants.

The article also presented the following raw numbers. 

If it is any comfort, more people still belong to some sort of denomination than all the non-denominationals combined.  

When I travel, I am more likely to visit an ACNA church than I am to walk into a non-denominational one. I don't think I could take the uncertainty about where these "nons" fall along the orthodox/heterodox spectrum.