Hat tip to Ann for pointing me to another good story by Cathy Lee Grossman of USA Today. This one focuses on a new study of American religion, particuarly on people’s view of God.
An excerpt:
Though 91.8% say they believe in God, a higher power or a cosmic force, they had four distinct views of God’s personality and engagement in human affairs. These Four Gods — dubbed by researchers Authoritarian, Benevolent, Critical or Distant — tell more about people’s social, moral and political views and personal piety than the familiar categories of Protestant/Catholic/Jew or even red state/blue state.
For example: 45.6% of all Americans say the federal government “should advocate Christian values,” but 74.5% of believers in an authoritarian God do.
Sociologist Paul Froese says the survey finds the stereotype that conservatives are religious and liberals are secular is “simply not true. Political liberals and conservative are both religious. They just have different religious views.”
(Click on comments to read Dr. Phillip Cato’s interesting contribution.)