Interpreting scripture among non-parents by religious group (2014) Switch to: Religious tradition among non-parents by interpretation of scripture

% of non-parents who say the holy scripture is…

Religious traditionWord 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
Buddhist5%10%< 1%71%13%217
Catholic24%36%3%29%8%5,411
Evangelical Protestant56%28%4%8%4%6,385
Hindu11%17%< 1%62%9%115
Historically Black Protestant61%22%3%8%6%1,421
Jehovah's Witness48%40%7%2%3%182
Jewish10%22%2%57%9%661
Mainline Protestant24%35%3%28%10%4,844
Mormon33%52%5%7%3%419
Muslim41%32%10%11%6%147
Orthodox Christian18%40%2%28%12%137
Unaffiliated (religious "nones")9%10%1%74%7%5,788
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