Who knew?

"View of God Can Predict Values, Politics" says USA Today, summarizing the results of a broad Baylor U survey. Some highlights:

• 91.8% believe in God. But...
  
• Our ideas of God differ, from the "wrathful" and "authoritarian" God most prevalent in the Bible belt to the "critical", "distant", or"benevolent" views of God somewhat more prevalent elsewhere. [only four?]
  
• These differences play out in political stances. Amazingly, believers in a God that is actively involved in the affairs of our lives AND that punishes the sinful are more likely (74.5%) to say that the federal government "should advocate Christian values" than the population as a whole (45.6%).
  

Says Baylor sociologist Christopher Bader, "[Y]ou learn more about people's moral and political behavior if you know their image of God than almost any other measure. It turns out to be more powerful a predictor of social and political views than the usual markers of church attendance or belief in the Bible."

It's almost as if, as a theologian once said, the most important thing about a person is what comes to mind when s/he conceives of "God."