News by email Donate

Suggestions

Top Stories

Most Read

Popular Videos

God-e-fit-study-main_article_image.jpg
PLOS ONE journal/University of North Carolina/Joshua Conrad Jackson, Neil Hester and Kurt Gray
World News

Researchers issue e-fit of God

Researchers at the University of North Carolina found believers in the United States generally consider God to be young, Caucasian and loving.

In their study, they reported perceptions vary according to an individual's own political views and physical appearance.

They were also shown to see God as similar to them in terms of attractiveness, age and - to a lesser extent - race.

The authors concluded the liberals see God as relatively more feminine, more African American and more loving than conservatives.

In contrast, conservatives were more like to consider the author of creation as older, more intelligent and more powerful.

Published in the PLOS ONE journal, they said: "These differences are consistent with past research showing that people's views of God are shaped by their group-based motivations and cognitive biases.

PLOS ONE journal/University of North Carolina/Joshua Conrad Jackson, Neil Hester and Kurt Gray

"Our results also speak to the broad scope of religious differences: even people of the same nationality and the same faith appear to think differently about God's appearance."

The study, entitled 'The Faces of God in America', which conducted by Joshua Conrad Jackson, Neil Hester and Kurt Gray. Some 511 American Christians took part - 330 men and 181 women.

The authors also said: "As faces communicate both physical and psychological information, this measure also provides insight into how believers conceptualise God's mind.

"By showing how these perceptions vary within a religion, we can better understand the motivational and cognitive factors that shape people's understanding of the divine."

There is no definitive information in the Bible concerning God's appearance.

Stay up to date with the latest news stories from a Christian perspective. Sign up to our daily newsletter and receive more stories like this straight to your inbox every morning.

A Monthly Gift Of $11 Makes A World Of Difference

In a world of fake news there’s never been a greater need for quality Christian journalism. Premier’s mission is to provide the Church with the most up to date and relevant news, told from a Christian perspective. But we can’t do it without you.

Unlike many websites we haven't put up a paywall — we want to keep our journalism free at the point of need and as open as we can. Premier’s news output takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. No one in the USA is sharing news like we are across radio, magazines and online so please help us to continue that today.

For a monthly gift of $11 or more we’d also be able to send you a free copy of the brand new Premier Bible, a wonderful Anglicised version of the NLT packed with exclusive bonus content, reading plan and resources to help you get the most out of scripture.

Your monthly support will make a world of difference. Thank you.

Support Us
Continue the conversation on our Facebook page

Related Articles

Sign up to our newsletter to stay informed with news from a Christian perspective.

News by email

Connect

Donate

Donate