Interpreting scripture among independents and those who don't lean to either party by religious group (2014) Switch to: Religious tradition among independents and those who don't lean to either party by interpretation of scripture

% of independents and those who don't lean to either party 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
Catholic32%29%5%24%10%1,158
Evangelical Protestant54%25%5%9%7%1,230
Historically Black Protestant52%24%5%8%11%184
Jehovah's Witness44%40%8%2%5%188
Mainline Protestant25%29%6%26%14%822
Unaffiliated (religious "nones")13%13%2%60%11%1,474
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