Sources of guidance on right and wrong among who believe in Heaven by interpretation of scripture (2014) Switch to: Interpreting scripture among who believe in Heaven by sources of guidance on right and wrong

% of who believe in Heaven who say they look to…most for guidance on right and wrong

Interpreting scriptureReligionPhilosophy/reasonCommon senseScienceDon't knowSample size
Word of God; should be taken literally59%4%30%4%2%8,889
Word of God; not everything taken literally38%9%46%5%2%8,489
Word of God; other/don't know51%3%32%3%10%806
Not the word of God11%14%62%11%2%4,538
Other/don't know26%10%52%6%6%1,615
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: Religion, Philosophy/reason, Common sense, Science