Interpreting scripture among adults who feel a deep sense of spiritual peace and wellbeing at least once a week by religious group (2014) Switch to: Religious tradition among adults who feel a deep sense of spiritual peace and wellbeing at least once a week by interpretation of scripture

% of adults who feel a deep sense of spiritual peace and wellbeing at least once a week who say the holy scripture is…

Religious traditionWord 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
Buddhist8%11%1%68%12%166
Catholic30%37%3%22%8%4,173
Evangelical Protestant61%26%4%5%4%6,541
Historically Black Protestant63%22%3%6%6%1,423
Jehovah's Witness46%40%8%2%4%203
Jewish18%29%3%40%10%320
Mainline Protestant31%34%3%23%9%3,532
Mormon37%53%5%3%2%545
Muslim42%33%10%11%4%152
Orthodox Christian28%48%3%18%5%103
Unaffiliated (religious "nones")13%11%1%68%7%3,048
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