… the study went further by asking respondents what sort of God they believed in. The results put the perennial debate over the role of religion in public life in a new light.
The survey identifies four conceptions of God, which it labels A, B, C and D.
A is the Authoritarian God, worshiped by 31.4% of respondents. This deity is highly involved, responsible for Earthly events such as tsunamis or economic upturns and "capable of meting out punishment to those who are unfaithful or ungodly."
B is the Benevolent God, the choice of 23% of respondents. He also is involved in human affairs but isn't in the smiting business. This God is "mainly a force of positive influence in the world and is less willing to condemn or punish individuals."
C is the Critical God, who "really does not interact with the world." But believers in this God — 16% of the sample — still watch their Ps and Qs because God C "views the current state of the world unfavorably" and will punish evildoers "in another life."
Last but not least is D, the Distant God. Twenty-four percent of respondents endorsed — "embraced" is probably too strong a word — this version of the deity, "a cosmic force which set the laws of nature in motion" but has no interest in human activities.
This puts the SAT in a new light. At least that’s just an unfair test to determine who gets into college. Multiple choice tests for eternal salvation, eh? I’d imagine there’s a guessing penalty.
Finally, there are the atheists, who accounted for 5.2% of respondents. (They aren't dignified with an abbreviation. F for faithless?
How about just E, none of the above?
All quotes are from Multiple-Choice God.
