Methodist, Female 41, Fredonia, NY

Presbyterian, Female 22, Charlotte, NC

I can never picture God’s face in my head when I talk to him, I just picture clouds and an all-knowing kind of figure. It may sound kind of dumb but whenever I am flying in a plane and we get into the clouds, I always feel like that is when I am closest to him physically.

Episcopalian Female, 25, Richmond, VA

I believe in a living God, one who can be found in our everyday life through the people we encounter; through the love, patience, kindness, generosity, and goodwill we show one another. I feel God's presence in the most concentrated way, however, in moments of "grace" -- where something happens which jolts me out of my usual state of mind. These moments can happen in something simple and beautiful, like seeing something breathtaking in nature. In my case, this grace also found me when I had a horrible accident several months ago. In the moment where I wasn't sure whether I was going to be ok, I found the strength and resolve (God's light) to fight for myself. Afterward, an entire community embraced me with love and support. I didn't ask for it--it was just there. I believe God is the same way; always present, always beside you...but these extraordinary moments remind us of that fact.

I believe that we are all God's children, that in his sight we are ALL accepted and loved. And I believe that it is in loving one another that we love God. The same unconditional, incomprehensible love that a parent showers on a child is what God gives us.

Catholic, Male 24, Roanoke, VA

"God is incomprehensible. God is science. God is a complex and immeasurable world. Faith, often causing atrophy of critical reasoning, is overrated. Actions to improve yourself and others, not declarations of faith, are the affirmation of belief. While we are imperfect and seemingly hopeless at times, I believe in compassion, charity, and right and wrong. I believe in the substance of morality. Put simply, I believe the things we do matter. My belief is my evidence. That's what God is, at least. Hopefully more."

Agnostic, Female 23, Roanoke, VA

"I had a spiritual moment when I saw this in real life, makes me think there is a g-d, or at least an almighty, I don't relate masculinity with beauty, so g-d must be female."

Methodist, Female 24, NOLA

"Is it weird that this is also what I think of when I think of the perfect granddad? Plus a little Bill Cosby. Maybe i get God and "granddad" confused."

Agnostic, Female 26, Roanoke, VA

My most spiritual experience did not occur in a church or temple or Mecca, but rather in the Pacific ocean. I was in a small dingy boat on the water in Maui when a female humpback whale approached. She and her calf swam gently underneath the boat. I watched them glide from one side to the other, right below me. Then the mother gracefully rose from the water right next to the boat to get a look at me with her giant eye. There we were looking eye to eye with an equal sense of amazement and curiousity about the other. It was such a peaceful, yet powerful experience. This beautiful animal was larger than life, but yet I felt safer and more at ease than perhaps ever before. In that moment, I felt a sense of freedom from all of the trivial worries of human life. I felt protected by something much bigger than both the whale and myself. It semed we were both supposed to be right there, right then. My eyes welled up with tears of happiness and wonder.

I'm not sure whether I can ever come to terms with the idea of one God or even many gods. I don't identify with the teachings in the Bible or the rules of Judiasm. I don't pray. But I know that during that one point in time, I was a part of something I can never quite grasp, something that is impossible to define. To me, that whale embodied all of the Christ-like characteristics -- patience, wisdom, kindness, healing and love. To me, God would look just like her.