Paul Froese on America’s Four Gods

tonygill — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 09:00:38 +0000

Prof. Paul Froese — associate professor of sociology at Baylor University and research fellow at the Institute for Studies of Religion — discusses his critically-acclaimed book America’s Four Gods (co-authored with Chris Bader). Unlike many surveys of religion that simply ask if a person believes in God, these authors examine how different people conceptualize God and find four relatively distinct images that Americans have of God based upon two important dimensions — the level of engagment that people think God has with this world, and the extent they think God is judgmental of humanity. We cover the four principal images of God, including: Authoritative God (engaged and judgmental); Benevolent God (engaged, but less judgmental); Critical God (not engaged, but judgmental); and Distant God (not engaged and not judgmental). Paul details the socio-demographic and denominational characteristics associated with each of the four conceptualizations of God and discusses how different regions of the United States tend to favor different visions of God. We further talk about how these foundational images affect our beliefs in different areas of life including cultural issues such as abortion and adultery, the relationship between science and faith, support for social welfare policies, and how people view natural disasters and war. Your host took the authors’ online survey and reveals what those questions said about his image of God. Recorded: December 15, 2010.

RELATED LINKS

Prof. Paul Froese’s website at Baylor University.

The America’s Four Gods website (including the God test and Images of God).

America’s Four Gods: What We Say about God & What that Says about Us by Paul Froese and Chris Bader.

The Plot to Kill God: Findings from the Soviet Experiment in Secularization by Paul Froese.

RELATED PODCASTS

James Wellman on Evangelical versus Liberal Christians.

Jay Hein on the Faith-Based and Community Iniative.

Chris Bader on Ghosts, UFOs, and the Paranormal.

James Wellman on Evangelical vs Liberal Christians

tonygill — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 08:00:48 +0000

Evangelical Christians and liberal mainline Protestants represent distinct religious subcultures in the United States. James Wellman — associate professor of comparative religion and sociology, and director of the Comparative Religion Program at the University of Washington — discusses the core beliefs, organizational structures and pastoral strategies of these two groups. Prof. Wellman’s most recent book Evangelical vs. Liberal, examines these two groups in a most unlikely of environments: the Pacific Northwest (Oregon and Washington), arguably one of the least churched region of the United States. We briefly discuss the cultural environment of the Pacific Northwest, with Prof. Wellman (a native Washingtonian) emphasizing the region’s libertarian sensibilities. Jim argues that the evangelical emphasis on personal salvation leads to dramatically different styles of worship, community outreach, and engagement in the political arena. We explore the reasons for these differences in the first half of the podcast. Our discussion also focuses on why evangelical churches are growing at a faster pace than more liberal-oriented mainline churches. Recorded: September 24, 2010.

(Please note that due to a scheduling conflict with our normal recording room, the acoustic environment for this podcast created an echo, particularly with your host’s voice. We apologize for any inconvenience this might cause.)

Research On Religion » mainline Christianity

Paul Froese on America’s Four Gods

James Wellman on Evangelical vs Liberal Christians