Americans See One God, but in Different Ways
Is God wrathful and ready to mete out punishment to the evil and unbelieving? Or is God a more benevolent creator? Does God influence events on Earth, or merely watch human affairs unfold from afar?
Such questions have been debated by scholars and theologians for millenniums, and now a study released this week by Baylor University explores how Americans answer these and other questions about the nature of God.
Among the more striking findings, researchers said, were responses to questions concerning how people viewed God’s connection -- or anger -- with the world.
Distinct patterns emerged, leading researchers at the Texas-based university to identify what they called “America’s Four Gods.”
For convenience, they gave each a name:
Authoritarian God -- a God who is “very judgmental and engaged” with the world.
Benevolent God -- a God who is not judgmental but still very active in human affairs.
Distant God -- a deity who is removed from human affairs.
Critical God -- a God who does not interact with the world, but who still views some events on Earth with disfavor.
The report noted that previous studies by various researchers have consistently found that about 85% to 90% of Americans answered “yes” when asked if they believed in God.
These findings might suggest a uniformity of religious thought among Americans.
“In fact,” the Baylor study said, “under the surface, American religion is startlingly complex and diverse. Americans may agree that God exists. They do not agree on what God is like, what God wants for the world, or how God feels about politics.”
The “four Gods” embody these differences. For example, Americans in the East tend toward a Critical God, Southerners toward an Authoritarian God. Midwesterners believe more in a Benevolent God, while those in the West perceive a Distant God.
Researchers also found what they called a “strong gender effect in belief in God.” Women tended toward a more engaged deity -- the Authoritarian or Benevolent God -- while men tended toward a God less involved in the world.
The study, funded by the John M. Templeton Foundation, was based on polling conducted by the Gallup Organization from Oct. 8 to Dec. 12. The poll had 1,721 respondents, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. Researchers at Baylor began analyzing the material this spring.
The entire report can be accessed through the university’s website (www.baylor.edu).
Here is a sampling of findings concerning the four Gods:
Authoritarian God
This God was defined as a judgmental deity capable of inflicting punishment on the unfaithful or ungodly. The study found that 31.4% of respondents believed in such a God.
More believers in an Authoritarian God came from the South and Midwest (43.5% and 32.5%, respectively) than from the East and West (25.5% and 20.8%, respectively).
There was a correlation between education and belief in such a God. Of respondents with a high school education or less, 40.4% believed in the Authoritarian God. Among respondents with college or more, 23.9% believed in such a deity.
Benevolent God
The study found that 23% of respondents believed in a God who judges humankind but is less likely to be angry or act in “wrathful ways.” This God is mainly a positive influence on the world and less willing to punish individuals.
Among Catholics, more believed in this kind of God (28.2%) than those who perceived an Authoritarian God (22.6%).
Regardless of denomination, believers in a Benevolent God or an Authoritarian God were both more likely to attend church weekly and pray several times a day, the report said.
Believers of these two conceptions of God differed on whether God is masculine. More than half of Authoritarian God believers -- 56.1% -- strongly perceive god as a “he.” Among those who perceive a Benevolent God, 29.7% said God is masculine.
Distant God
The survey found 24.4% of respondents believed in this kind of a God, defined as one who does not interact with the world and “is not especially angry either.”
Such a God, researchers said, is viewed more as a “cosmic force which sets the laws of nature in motion.”
Not surprisingly, differences were pronounced between those who viewed God as Authoritarian or Distant.
For example, believers in the Authoritarian God were almost four times as likely to desire government funding for faith-based organizations (47.2%) as those who perceived a Distant God (12.7%).
Contrasting viewpoints appeared in the study. One question addressed converting others to “your religious faith.”
As the report noted, “Believers in a Distant God (0.3%) are 72 times less likely to believe converting others is a very important part of being a good person than those who believe in an Authoritarian God (21.5%).”
Among all respondents, believers in the Distant God were the least likely to interpret the Bible literally (2.5%) and the least likely to say they perceive the deity as masculine (4.5%).
Critical God
Sixteen percent of respondents believed in this kind of God. This deity is similar to the Distant God in that this God does not interact with the world. Still, the Critical God watches the world -- sometimes unfavorably -- and punishes offenders eventually.
Believers in the Critical God feel that “God’s displeasure will be felt in another life and that divine justice may not be of this world,” the study said.
The largest numbers of believers in a Critical God (21.2%) come from the East, as compared with the South (15.9%), the Midwest (13.8%) and the West (13.6%).
Believers in the Critical or Distant God were less likely to pray than were other poll respondents. About 18% of believers in a Critical God said they never pray. Among believers in a Distant God, 38.7% said they never pray.
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Perspectives on the creator
A study released this week by Baylor University found that Americans varied widely in how they viewed God’s connection - or anger - with humankind and world events. A nationwide poll helped researchers identify four basic perceptions of the deity.
Different views of God
Authoritarian - Engaged in humans’ daily lives; judgmental
Benevolent - Engaged but not judgmental
Critical - Not engaged but judgmental
Distant - Not engaged; not judgmental
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Percent who believe in each
Authoritarian: 31.4%
Benevolent: 23.0%
Critical: 16.0%
Distant: 24.4%
Atheists: 5.2%
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Views of God by religious tradition
*--* Authoritarian Benevolent Critical Distant Catholic 22.6% 28.2% 18.6% 29.2% Black Protestant 68.0 12.0 20.0 0 Evangelical Protestant 52.3 23.6 12.8 10.8 Mainline Protestant 23.7 26.6 19.7 29.3 Jewish 19.4 13.9 16.7 41.7 Unaffiliated 2.9 5.0 15.7 35.7
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Note: Percentages may not add up to 100 because of rounding.
How the poll was conducted: The Gallup Organization surveyed a randomly selected group of Americans by mail Oct. 8 - Dec. 12. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 4 percentage points; it may be larger for subgroups.
Source: Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion
