American Piety in the 21st Century

From a recent USA today piece:

"Believers just don't see themselves the way the media and politicians — or even their pastors — do, according to the national survey of 1,721 Americans, by
far the most comprehensive national religion survey to date.

"Written and analyzed by sociologists from Baylor University's Institute
for Studies of Religion, in Waco, Texas, and conducted by Gallup, the survey
asked 77 questions with nearly 400 answer choices that burrowed deeply into
beliefs, practices and religious ties and turned up some surprising findings:

"-Though 91.8% say they believe in God, a higher power or a cosmic
force, they had four distinct views of God's personality and engagement in
human affairs. These Four Gods — dubbed by researchers Authoritarian,
Benevolent, Critical or Distant — tell more about people's social, moral and
political views and personal piety than the familiar categories of Protestant /
Catholic / Jew or even red state / blue state."

The study contains some interesting insights/data, and can be seen here. Anything that encourages the media and political leaders to recognize the complexity and subtlety of the American religious/political landscape is valuable, in my opinion, in furthering the dialogue and improving the tenor thereof.