Interpreting scripture among adults with an education level of high school or less by belief in existence of standards for right and wrong (2014) Switch to: Belief in absolute standards for right and wrong among adults with an education level of high school or less by interpretation of scripture

% of adults with an education level of high school or less who say the holy scripture is…

Belief in absolute standards for right and wrongWord 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
There are clear standards for what is right and wrong50%24%3%18%5%3,368
Right or wrong depends on the situation37%25%2%29%7%6,890
Neither/both equally46%14%11%13%15%139
Don't know56%13%10%13%8%187
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