In addition, many historical artist creations show God as an old, white-bearded Caucasian man. But the UNC study found that, in general, many Christians see God differently than that popular image: younger, more feminine, and less Caucasian.
To understand the range of ideas about God, researchers examined several groups within the American Christian community.
Among the groups were Americans who identified themselves as politically liberal or politically conservative. In the U.S., "liberal" usually relates to using government action to support social and political change. "Conservative" often relates to limiting government regulation and finding private solutions to problems.
The researchers said liberals saw God as "more feminine, younger, and more loving." They said conservatives saw God as older, more Caucasian and "more powerful."
Joshua Conrad Jackson was one of the lead researchers for the study. He said the differences based on political beliefs could have resulted from "the type of societies that liberals and conservatives want."
He said past research has shown that conservatives generally feel more at ease in a well-ordered society – one that would be best controlled by a powerful God. But liberals, he said, seek a more tolerant society, overseen by a more loving God.
The study also found differences based on people's age and race.
Younger people pictured a young-looking God, while older Christians imagined an older God. In addition, people who reported being physically attractive also believed in a physically attractive God.
African Americans generally described God as looking African American, while white Americans imaged a Caucasian God.
Researcher Kurt Gray said the results showed that, in general, people imagined a God that looked similar to themselves. "People often project their beliefs and traits onto others, and our study shows that God's appearance is no different -- people believe in a God who not only thinks like them, but also looks like them," he said.
But there was one area where this was not the case. The gender of the respondent did not appear to matter. Researchers observed that men and women both "believed in an equally masculine-looking God."
I'm Bryan Lynn.
生詞列表
www.putschool.com
❂ feminine
/'femɪnɪn/
adj. 女性的；婦女（似）的；陰性的；嬌柔的
❂ masculine
/'mæskjʊlɪn/
adj. 男性的；陽性的；男子氣概的
n. 男性；陽性，陽性詞
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