Authoritarian: representing 31.4% of the population - this is the old testament god, "angry at earthly sin and willing to inflict divine retribution — including tsunamis and hurricanes". Those believing in an authoritarian god are "religiously and politically the most conservative. They are more likely to be less educated and have lower incomes, come from the South and be white evangelicals or black Protestants." So no surprise there.
Distant god: representing 24.4% - defined "as a faceless, cosmic force that launched the world but leaves it alone." This is is the god of "liberals, moral relativists and those who don’t attend church" (and other heathens). The largest base of support is on the West Coast. Don't tell the wing nuts but this characterisation of god is closest to that of most of the American founding fathers (including Washington, Jefferson, Franklin and Tom Paine) who were deists. Those darn Californians, who would've thought they were so damn American.
Benevolent god: representing 23% - defined as setting "absolute standards for man, but is also forgiving — engaged but not so angry." Strongest base is in the midwest among mainstream Protestants, Catholics and Jews.
Critical god: representing 16% - sort of the old testament god without all the anger, "the classic bearded old man". Support is centred on the East Coast.
Political beliefs align pretty much as one would expect. Authoritarian believers are least likely to oppose the death penalty, most likely to support the Iraq war and to believe that Saddam Hussein was involved in the 11 September attacks.
Bush doesn't fair very well in any group; only 32% of authoritarian believers "trust Bush a lot" v. <10% of believers in a distant god.
A PDF of the full report may be found here.
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