Interpreting scripture among Mainline Protestants by religious denomination (2014) Switch to: Religious denomination among Mainline Protestants by interpretation of scripture

% of Mainline Protestants who say the holy scripture is…

Religious denominationWord of God; should be taken literallyWord of God; not everything taken literallyWord of God; other/don't knowNot the word of GodOther/don't knowSample size
American Baptist Churches USA53%27%4%11%5%467
Anglican Church20%43%1%29%7%111
Episcopal Church10%33%1%47%9%494
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)20%42%2%29%8%641
Interdenominational (Mainline Trad.)9%30%1%39%21%139
Presbyterian Church (USA)24%39%3%24%10%428
United Church of Christ13%34%1%38%13%227
United Methodist Church27%42%3%20%8%1,637
Sample sizes and margins of error vary from subgroup to subgroup, from year to year and from state to state. You can see the sample size for the estimates in this chart on rollover or in the last column of the table. And visit this table to see approximate margins of error for a group of a given size. Readers should always bear in mind the approximate margin of error for the group they are examining when making comparisons with other groups or assessing the significance of trends over time. For full question wording, see the survey questionnaire.

Learn More: Word of God; should be taken literally, Word of God; not everything taken literally, Not the word of God