The American Gods

One of my favorite quotes is from A.W. Tozer and it goes like this: "What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us."

Baylor University sociologists Paul Froese and Christopher Bader have contributed what seems to be an excellent study of what American people think about when they say, "God." 

95% of Americans believe in "God," so the issue obviously becomes one of definition. Who is this God? I find it increasingly helpful to have a name to the God we worship as Christians, saying the name of Jesus is a quick way to separate and tear down misconceptions people hold in their mind when they think about "God." Nonetheless, there still lies many divisions in our definition of "God" and the role he has in the universe.

Froese and Bader have released, America's Four Gods: What We Say About God - and What That Says About Us and I've been holding out for the paperback. Thankfully, the wonderful people at Duke's Faith & Leadership posted a great article summarizing a lot of the scholarly ground work included in the book. In the results of the study, Froese and Bader find these common adjectives amongst most Americans:

• The Authoritative God: God is like a literal father, both engaged as a positive force in the world and a judge of the behaviors of humankind. Suffering can be the result of social and individual sins.
• The Benevolent God: God is mainly a force for good in the world, a being who answers the prayers of individuals and comforts the suffering.
• The Critical God: God is less likely to be concerned with moments in the lives of individuals, but will mete out judgments in the next life. This is a popular image among the poor and oppressed, the authors state.
• The Distant God: God is a cosmic force that sets the laws of nature in motion, but does not get involved in day-to-day events or movements.

Read the whole thing here.