Importance of religion in one's life among adults ages 65 and older by interpretation of scripture (2014) Switch to: Interpreting scripture among adults ages 65 and older by importance of religion

% of adults ages 65 and older who say religion is…

Interpreting scriptureVery importantSomewhat importantNot too importantNot at all importantDon't knowSample size
Word of God; should be taken literally90%8%1%1%< 1%2,934
Word of God; not everything taken literally67%27%4%1%1%2,539
Word of God; other/don't know86%10%1%1%3%348
Not the word of God23%28%20%27%1%2,690
Other/don't know57%27%8%6%3%816
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: Very important, Somewhat important, Not too important, Not at all important