Interpreting scripture among adults who say that government aid to the poor does more good than harm by belief in God (2014) Switch to: Belief in God among adults who say that government aid to the poor does more good than harm by interpretation of scripture

% of adults who say that government aid to the poor does more good than harm who say the holy scripture is…

Belief in GodWord of God; should be taken literallyWord of God; not everything taken literallyWord of God; other/don't knowNot the word of GodOther/don't knowSample size
Believe in God; absolutely certain41%32%3%18%7%9,621
Believe in God; fairly certain15%25%1%52%8%3,628
Believe in God; not too/not at all certain5%9%< 1%79%7%1,135
Believe in God; don't know41%10%8%25%16%105
Do not believe in God1%1%< 1%96%2%2,372
Other/don't know if they believe in God3%3%1%78%15%498
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