Interpreting scripture among moderates by race/ethnicity (2014) Switch to: Racial and ethnic composition among moderates by interpretation of scripture

% of moderates who say the holy scripture is…

Racial and ethnic compositionWord 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
White18%32%2%40%8%8,170
Black47%28%2%18%6%1,215
Asian17%23%2%50%8%372
Latino31%28%3%32%6%1,218
Other/Mixed19%34%3%35%9%534
Note: Whites, blacks, Asians and those in the other/mixed category include only those who are not Latinos. Latinos include people of all races.

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