Religious tradition 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 (2014) Switch to: 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 religious group
% of adults who say their holy scripture is the word of God but should not be taken literally who are…
| Sources of guidance on right and wrong | Buddhist | Catholic | Evangelical Protestant | Hindu | Historically Black Protestant | Jehovah's Witness | Jewish | Mainline Protestant | Mormon | Muslim | Orthodox Christian | Other Christian | Other Faiths | Other World Religions | Unaffiliated (religious "nones") | Don't know | Sample size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Religion | < 1% | 25% | 37% | < 1% | 6% | 2% | 1% | 17% | 6% | 1% | 1% | < 1% | < 1% | < 1% | 3% | < 1% | 3,819 |
| Philosophy/reason | 1% | 28% | 25% | 1% | 5% | < 1% | 2% | 20% | 1% | 2% | 1% | < 1% | 1% | < 1% | 12% | < 1% | 827 |
| Common sense | < 1% | 29% | 23% | < 1% | 6% | < 1% | 2% | 22% | 2% | 1% | 1% | < 1% | < 1% | < 1% | 13% | < 1% | 4,156 |
| Science | < 1% | 37% | 16% | 1% | 6% | 1% | 2% | 17% | 1% | 2% | 1% | < 1% | 1% | < 1% | 15% | 1% | 517 |
| Don't know | < 1% | 30% | 28% | < 1% | 3% | 2% | 3% | 16% | 3% | 1% | < 1% | < 1% | < 1% | < 1% | 12% | < 1% | 223 |
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: Catholic, Evangelical Protestant, Historically Black Protestant, Jehovah's Witness, Jewish, Mainline Protestant, Mormon, Unaffiliated (religious "nones")
