God Images in the Cities of Bilbao, Cordoba, Lima, and Montevideo: a Qualitative Study

Abstract

The aim of this article is to analyze God images reflected in 57 interviews conducted among Catholics, Evangelicals, and other people without religious self-identification (“unaffiliated”). The interviews, which follow the Lived Religion approach, were carried out in three Latin American cities (Córdoba, Lima, and Montevideo), and in the city of Bilbao (Spain). In the latter city, both the Latin American immigrant population and the local population were considered. The systematic analysis of the interviews lets us identify a multi-faceted imaginary of the divine with diverse nuances in the images of the benevolent God, the authoritarian God and other hybrid God images. Likewise, it is striking to note what is, and what is not God, as it is reflected in various interviews. The analysis of the identified quotations suggests some differences in God images, based on geographical location and religious belonging, as well as the specific case of the unaffiliated to any religious faith.