Americans split on the kind of God they believe in

Religious cultural differences, even battles, in the United States are not between secularists and believers, but among believers who have very different views of God, claim authors Paul Froese and Christopher Bader in "America's Four Gods" (Oxford Press, 2010).

They explain that 95 percent of Americans believe in God, an extraordinarily high percentage, but that conflicts occur because people's views of God are so radically different.

Religious illiteracy also fuels a great many of these conflicts. People have strong convictions and devotion, but not a whole lot of religious education. Religion scholar Stephen Prothero has shown, for instance, that America is composed of "Protestants who can't name the four Gospels, Catholics who can't name the seven sacraments, and Jews who can't name the five books of Moses." And the confusion about religion is compounded by the agenda of political figures and media pundits.

Some would have us believe, Froese and Bader argue, that American society is engaged in a titanic struggle between "true believers" and the "godless." But the two authors note that only 5 percent are atheists, and they identify four, mostly contradictory, views of God as the source for the intractable social and political divisions among Americans.

They show that regardless of religious tradition (Jew, Buddhist, Catholic, Protestant, Muslim), the great divide falls out around belief in four distinct deities: the Authoritative God, who is engaged with the world and judgmental; the Benevolent God, who loves and aids us in spite of our failings; the Critical God, who catalogs our sins but does not punish them (at least not in this life); and the Distant God, who stands apart from the world. Such views shape one's worldview and one's moral, political convictions.

A common thread among American believers is that God is a loving parent. But they are divided on whether God is a firm or indulgent parent and whether God is a strict or forgiving parent.

In order to reduce the myriad views of God to a discernible pattern, Froese and Bader construct an axis around the intersection of a more-or-less-judgmental God and a more-or-less-engaged God. In the resulting four quadrants, they identity the Authoritative God (more engaged, more judgmental); Benevolent God (more engaged, less judgmental); Critical God (more judgmental, less engaged; and Distant God (less judgmental, less engaged).

Their survey shows these results: 31 percent believe in an Authoritative God, 24 percent believe in a Benevolent God, 24 percent believe in a Distant God; and the smallest groups are those who believe in a Critical God (16 percent) and atheists (5 percent).

A couple of examples will need to suffice. The Authoritative God intervenes, judges, and punishes appropriately. Hence after Hurricane Katrina, Alabama state Sen. Hank Erwin wrote, "New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast have always been known for gambling, sin and wickedness. ... It is the kind of behavior that ultimately brings the judgment of God."

Believers in a Benevolent God also see God active and immediate in the world and people's lives. But, with regard to a tragedy, such as Katrina, they are unlikely to see God's punishing hand. Rather, evidence of God's presence is found in the amazing generosity of people and miraculous coincidences of people saved in the midst of such a disaster.

"America's Four Gods" offers a much more complete, nuanced and balanced set of descriptions than I am able to offer here. It's worth our study and reflection so that we might better understand each other and engage a deeper dialogue among us all.

The limitation of such a book is that it depends so much on surveys and schema that reduce people's experience to understandable categories. The mystery of God, however, is far beyond our understanding and imagination.

At the same time, God dwells at the very heart of creation and, as the Jesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins says, hovers over the "dearest freshest deep down things," bringing forth the best in each of us.

Fr. Patrick Howell SJ is the rector (religious superior) of the Jesuit Community at Seattle University and professor of pastoral theology. Readers may send feedback to faithcolumns@seattletimes.com.