New findings from the second wave of a major study on religion and race lay bare the dramatic and growing gap in racial attitudes and experiences in America. We do not live in a post-racial nation, the 2012 Portraits of American Life Study suggests, but in a land of two Americas divided by race, and less willing than ever to find a common ground of understanding.

Spending quality time with God appears to make benevolent love possible for many Americans, new research indicates. Americans may be biologically hard-wired to worship at the altars of consumerism this holiday season, buying gifts with expectations of what they will receive in return, but those people who say they regularly experience divine love are much more likely to reach out beyond family and friends to serve humanity, according to a national study.