America's Four Gods
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
Despite all the hype surrounding the "New Atheism," the United States remains one of the most religious nations on Earth. In fact, 95% of Americans believe in God--a level of agreement rarely seen in American life. The greatest divisions in America are not between atheists and believers, or even between people of different faiths. What divides us, this groundbreaking book shows, is how we conceive of God and the role He plays in our daily lives. America's Four Gods draws on the most wide-ranging, comprehensive, and illuminating survey of American's religious beliefs ever conducted to offer a systematic exploration of how Americans view God. Paul Froese and Christopher Bader argue that many of America's most intractable social and political divisions emerge from religious convictions that are deeply held but rarely openly discussed. Drawing upon original survey data from thousands of Americans and a wealth of in-depth interviews from all parts of the country, Froese and Bader trace America's cultural and political diversity to its ultimate source--differing opinions about God. They show that regardless of our religious tradition (or lack thereof), Americans worship four distinct types of God: The Authoritative God--who is both engaged in the world and judgmental; The Benevolent God--who loves and helps 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 He created. The authors show that these four conceptions of God form the basis of our worldviews and are among the most powerful predictors of how we feel about the most contentious issues in American life. This updated edition includes a new preface and afterword in which the authors reflect on their goals in writing this book, and explore trends that have developed since the initial publication. America's Four Gods provides an invaluable portrait of how we view God and therefore how we view virtually everything else.
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Top Highlights
“So far, we have identified three distinct dimensions of God’s character: (1) the extent to which God loves the world, (2) the extent to which God judges the world, and (3) the extent to which God engages in the world. Because nearly all Americans think that God is loving, a person’s belief that God is loving tells us next to nothing about her—simply by virtue of the fact that everyone else believes that God is loving, too.” (Page 24)
“Our four Gods help us assess two important dimensions of our moral philosophies: (1) the extent to which we rely on transcendent authority and (2) the ways we think best address evil.” (Pages 149–150)
“There are three possible roles for God in a disaster: (1) God can cause the disaster, (2) God can allow the disaster to occur, or (3) God can have no role in the disaster.” (Page 126)
“Believers in this God feel that whether sinners or saints, we are all free to call on the Benevolent God to answer our prayers in times of need.” (Page 29)
“These believers think that God’s displeasure will be felt in another life but that divine justice will not be meted out in this world.” (Page 32)
- Title: America's Four Gods
- Authors: Paul Froese, Christopher Bader
- Publisher: Oxford University Press
- Print Publication Date: 2015
- Logos Release Date: 2020
- Era: era:contemporary
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
- Subjects: United States › Religion; God; Religion
- ISBNs: 9780195341478, 9780190248857, 0195341473, 0190248858
- Resource ID: LLS:WS_14DFE7B40749413897B93764EC447FE0
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T04:02:18Z