Interpreting scripture among the Unaffiliated by sources of guidance on right and wrong (2014) Switch to: Sources of guidance on right and wrong among the Unaffiliated by interpretation of scripture

% of the Unaffiliated who say the holy scripture is…

Sources of guidance on right and wrongWord 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
Religion51%22%4%17%6%441
Philosophy/reason4%7%< 1%83%6%1,396
Common sense8%12%< 1%72%8%4,142
Science5%6%< 1%84%5%1,392
Don't know10%14%9%46%21%185
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