Interpreting scripture among adults ages 65 and older by views about size of government (2014) Switch to: Views about size of government among adults ages 65 and older by interpretation of scripture

% of adults ages 65 and older who say the holy scripture is…

Views about size of governmentWord 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
Smaller government; fewer services37%30%4%21%7%5,478
Bigger government; more services38%21%3%30%7%2,960
Depends25%15%9%34%18%374
Don't know32%21%10%19%19%515
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