Interpreting scripture among adults who believe in God and are fairly certain by state (2014) Switch to: State among adults who believe in God and are fairly certain by interpretation of scripture

% of adults who believe in God and are fairly certain who say the holy scripture is…

StateWord 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
Arizona12%31%1%44%12%121
California19%24%1%46%10%803
Colorado9%25%4%50%11%118
Florida15%24%1%52%7%377
Georgia19%28%1%44%9%141
Illinois14%34%1%45%6%274
Indiana25%33%2%33%7%126
Maryland11%29%< 1%52%9%116
Massachusetts6%23%2%63%5%175
Michigan10%29%1%51%9%203
Minnesota6%27%< 1%52%14%126
Missouri11%22%< 1%55%13%110
New Jersey16%27%< 1%49%8%220
New York15%22%1%52%10%425
North Carolina10%34%1%49%6%161
Ohio10%34%2%46%8%208
Pennsylvania11%25%1%57%6%275
Texas28%27%1%37%7%443
Virginia8%29%3%50%10%168
Washington11%21%1%55%12%156
Wisconsin11%37%2%41%8%131
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