Belief In God Takes Varying Forms Of Expression

Americans are keeping the faith more than ever, contrary to some surveys and at least one best-selling author. Although Christopher Hitchens denies the existence of a deity in his book, God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, 91.8 percent of Americans in a 2006 Baylor University survey said they believed in God or a higher power. Not only is God apparently not dead, or nonexistent, he may be one of the major factors in the 2008 presidential election. In a July 23 cover story on "How the Democrats Got Religion," Time reports that Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards are leading their party's crusade to win over religious voters that voted for Republicans in the past.

Although most of the Americans interviewed in the Baylor survey said they believe in God, less than half — figures range from 36% to 44% — attend religious services on a regular basis. Some ministers, such as Rev. Nibs Stroupe of Decatur, Georgia, place some of the blame on churches that have failed to meet the changing needs of society. "Many people have a hunger for God but don't see the church as a place where it can be met," he said. "Our churches have had a pretty bad track record on a lot of things, such as homosexuality or helping people who are starving." But religious leaders insist that faith means being involved with the community, no matter what problems organized religion may have. "I do hear people say they have a strong faith, but they choose not to go to church," says the Rev. Eddie Ard of St. Anne's Episcopal Church in Atlanta. "I think being a Christian means being involved with some kind of worship community."

According to the Baylor survey, one's image of God may depend on demographics. 53% of African-Americans said they believed in an authoritarian God; East Coast residents tended to believe in a critical God, Midwesterners in a benevolent God, West Coast residents in a distant God and Southerners in an authoritarian God.

My response: Christopher Hitchens believes that religion poisons everything?! Three words for him: Civil Rights Movement. Not to mention the role of religion in slavery abolition. On a related noted, 96% of all black Americans believe in God, and 62% of all blacks in USA believe the Bible is the literal word of God (i.e., are evangelical Christians). 41% of all black Americans attend religious services every week, 12% go almost every week, and 19% go once or twice a month. Thus, 72% of all black Americans report going to religious services on a regular basis.