Sources of guidance on right and wrong among adults who say their holy scripture is the word of God but should not be taken literally by state (2014) Switch to: State among adults who say their holy scripture is the word of God but should not be taken literally by sources of guidance on right and wrong

% of adults who say their holy scripture is the word of God but should not be taken literally who say they look to…most for guidance on right and wrong

StateReligionPhilosophy/reasonCommon senseScienceDon't knowSample size
Alabama47%5%44%2%2%147
Arizona42%9%39%7%3%183
California37%10%44%6%3%855
Colorado40%8%47%3%1%127
Florida32%12%48%6%2%524
Georgia52%7%35%4%2%266
Idaho44%1%50%5%< 1%106
Illinois32%10%49%7%1%400
Indiana33%8%52%4%4%186
Iowa41%5%46%4%3%119
Kansas38%4%56%2%1%105
Kentucky47%5%41%6%1%104
Louisiana48%7%38%4%3%129
Maryland32%7%52%6%4%177
Massachusetts27%11%53%8%2%154
Michigan30%6%54%8%2%283
Minnesota33%9%51%5%2%161
Missouri39%9%43%4%4%181
Nebraska42%6%45%6%1%106
New Jersey37%9%46%6%1%266
New York35%9%48%5%2%507
North Carolina38%11%45%5%< 1%262
North Dakota37%7%53%3%< 1%122
Ohio37%9%44%7%3%366
Oklahoma31%9%55%4%2%100
Oregon42%9%44%4%1%108
Pennsylvania44%9%42%4%1%401
South Carolina51%4%39%2%5%127
South Dakota37%9%48%5%1%114
Tennessee47%10%36%4%3%160
Texas43%9%40%8%1%704
Utah59%8%28%3%2%126
Virginia35%8%50%5%2%231
Washington33%12%48%5%3%186
Wisconsin32%9%49%7%3%180
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