Sources of guidance on right and wrong among adults with an education level of high school or less by interpretation of scripture (2014) Switch to: Interpreting scripture among adults with an education level of high school or less by sources of guidance on right and wrong

% of adults with an education level of high school or less who say they look to…most for guidance on right and wrong

Interpreting scriptureReligionPhilosophy/reasonCommon senseScienceDon't knowSample size
Word of God; should be taken literally54%5%34%5%2%4,434
Word of God; not everything taken literally33%8%52%6%2%2,598
Word of God; other/don't know44%3%39%3%12%330
Not the word of God9%13%63%13%1%2,523
Other/don't know21%7%59%7%6%699
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: Religion, Philosophy/reason, Common sense, Science