America's Four Gods: What We Say about God--and What That Says about Us

277 Pages·2010·1.703 MB·English

by  Paul Froese, Christopher Bader

America’s Four Gods
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A mer ic a’s
F o u r
G o d s
What We Say
about God—
& What That Says
about Us
Paul Froese & Christopher Bader
2010
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Froese, Paul.
America’s four gods : what we say about God—
and what that says about us / Paul Froese and Christopher Bader.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-19-534147-8
1. United States—Religion. 2. God.
I. Bader, Christopher, 1969– II. Title.
BL2525.F75 2010
200.973'09051—dc22 2010003101
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
For Milo and Sasha
For Sara
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There are not enough pages in the world
to write a book about God.
—Reverend Herbert Lusk
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Acknowledgments
T
he Baylor Religion Survey and Interview project was supported
by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation. Th e Gallup
Organization collected the survey data and off ered valuable feed-
back on the questionnaires. Th e Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion
under the direction of Byron Johnson and Rodney Stark also provided
crucial support and guidance.
Th e development of the Baylor Religion Survey was the result of
a collaborative eff ort with members of the Baylor Sociology Depart-
ment. F. Carson Mencken played a key role in the successful
administration of the survey and assisted with several analyses
throughout the book. Th e wonderful Sharon Sloan helped navigate
Baylor’s bureaucracy. A team of talented graduate students completed
a myriad of tasks essential to the project; we are indebted to Clay
Polson, Ashley Palmer, Jared Maier, Jeremy Rhodes, Buster Smith, and
Alessandra Gonzalez.
We thank all of the interview and survey participants and the
various groups that welcomed us into their communities. Photographers
Nigel Euling and Todd Th iele deserve special praise for their profes-
sionalism and artistry. We are grateful to Neil Luft and Ruth Christensen
for helping to design our related Web site (www.Americasfourgods.
com). And we thank Th eo Calderara, Christine Dahlin, and Jill Marshal
for their roles in the development and production of the book.
Special thanks from Paul:
Love to my parents, Margaret and Menno, and to my in-laws, Danie
and Jack. Heartfelt thanks to Jeff, Lexy, Will, and Mark. And my
deepest love and gratitude to Jana.