Speaking of ‘God’ in the twentieth century draws on patterns inherited from antecedent frameworks and faces new challenges of its own in an increasingly interconnected world. In the former category, one continues to see the difficulty in English that the word ‘God’ – reminiscent of its Greek forebear, theos – can be a common noun, a particular name or an implicit title tied to specific functions, such as creation and providence. That issue of indeterminacy alone creates possibilities for misunderstanding, conflation and nonsensicality (and in turn justifies the use of quotes for most instances of the word throughout the present article). As a result, it is typically not clear what the referent of ‘God’ is from case to case in casual conversation, mass polling and even some cases of formal theological literature. Naturally, this issue is not native to the twentieth century, but it was exacerbated with an increased diversity in voices, options and perspectives during this era.

As for new challenges, one must recognise that the twentieth century was uniquely plagued with violence, terrorism, the rise and fall of autocratic regimes, wealth disparity and ecological disasters, all of which were quickly televised or shared through electronic means of communication to an onlooking world. These happenings altered people's sensibilities and outlooks, including their religious and theistic beliefs. People repeatedly and openly have asked the ‘God question’ during this century in the light of many, mass-publicised developments: is it possible to believe in ‘God’ (whoever or whatever the referent) this side of two world wars? Auschwitz? The rise and fall of the USSR? Global warming? The list could go on. Given the circumstances involved and the manner in which the questions were raised in the first place, no clear resolution related to these queries emerged during the century. As a result, by the end of the twentieth century and the dawning of the twenty-first, plenty of unease surrounding ‘God’-related matters continued in Western, North Atlantic contexts. The terror attacks of September 11, 2001 – undertaken in the name of theistic devotion – and the rise since that time of what has become known as the ‘new atheism’ are just two indicators of this theologically unsettled mood.

The situation in the West may paint a dismal picture regarding the future for ‘God’, but developments in what is termed the ‘Global South’ would offer a different outlook.