Most in U.S. Think of God as ‘Father,’ Survey Finds

Most Americans are inclined to think of God as “Father,” but a third of them lean toward the “Mother” concept or a blending of both, a survey finds, and they’re more likely to consider the deity as “Friend” rather than “King.”

Oddly, a preference for the “Father” image has increased slightly in recent years even as liberal-to-moderate religious leaders made efforts to modify the masculine idea.

The findings about terminology for God were made by the National Opinion Research Center in Chicago, which regularly keeps tabs on religious trends. Views of God were scaled between various sets of two choices.

In a representative sample of 1,400 people, the center found that 51.9% view God as “Father,” compared to 46.1% in 1984, and an additional 16.4% are inclined that way--a total of 68.3%.

However, 7.2% regard God as “Mother” or incline that way, while 24.5% are in the neutral middle between the two qualities--a total of 31.7%.

Theologically, Christendom considers God neither male nor female, but all-inclusive. The traditional male imagery is used metaphorically. Several moves have been made lately for more inclusive language in Scripture readings.

Nevertheless, the male image of divinity has edged up, though only marginally.

Tom W. Smith, senior study director at the center, reports that in other categories, a strong 72.7% tend to regard God more as “Master” than as “Spouse” and 60.7% regard God more as “Judge” than “Lover.”

But 16.8% lean to the “Lover” view while another 22.6% pick the midpoint between “Judge” and “Lover.” Forty-six percent see God more as “Friend” than “King,” with 27% holding midway between them. Only 27% favor “King.”