Views about size of government among adults who say their holy scripture is the word of God and should be taken literally by religious group (2014) Switch to: Religious tradition among adults who say their holy scripture is the word of God and should be taken literally by views about size of government

% of adults who say their holy scripture is the word of God and should be taken literally who would rather have…

Religious traditionSmaller government; fewer servicesBigger government; more servicesDependsDon't knowSample size
Catholic35%62%2%2%1,545
Evangelical Protestant65%30%2%3%4,757
Historically Black Protestant21%74%2%2%1,094
Jehovah's Witness28%63%4%4%107
Mainline Protestant55%39%3%3%1,266
Mormon68%28%2%1%210
Unaffiliated (religious "nones")30%64%1%4%546
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: Smaller government; fewer services, Bigger government; more services