Interpreting scripture among adults ages 65 and older by religious denomination (2014) Switch to: Religious denomination among adults ages 65 and older by interpretation of scripture
% of adults ages 65 and older who say the holy scripture is…
| Religious denomination | Word of God; should be taken literally | Word of God; not everything taken literally | Word of God; other/don't know | Not the word of God | Other/don't know | Sample size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Baptist Churches USA | 64% | 16% | 6% | 4% | 10% | 139 |
| Assemblies of God | 78% | 8% | 7% | 1% | 6% | 145 |
| Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | 40% | 49% | 3% | 4% | 5% | 138 |
| Churches of Christ | 65% | 24% | 4% | 4% | 3% | 151 |
| Episcopal Church | 15% | 31% | 1% | 41% | 12% | 222 |
| Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) | 29% | 39% | 4% | 20% | 8% | 265 |
| Independent Baptist (Evangelical Trad.) | 67% | 20% | 3% | 5% | 4% | 212 |
| Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod | 52% | 31% | 5% | 6% | 5% | 180 |
| National Baptist Convention | 75% | 13% | 5% | 2% | 6% | 143 |
| Nondenominational evangelical | 60% | 29% | 7% | 5% | < 1% | 107 |
| Nothing in particular (religion important) | 27% | 17% | 2% | 39% | 15% | 276 |
| Nothing in particular (religion not important) | 3% | 8% | 1% | 82% | 7% | 518 |
| Presbyterian Church (USA) | 28% | 38% | 2% | 22% | 10% | 206 |
| Southern Baptist Convention | 67% | 19% | 5% | 6% | 4% | 643 |
| United Church of Christ | 8% | 33% | 2% | 38% | 19% | 100 |
| United Methodist Church | 26% | 40% | 4% | 19% | 10% | 691 |
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
