Sources of guidance on right and wrong among adults who say their holy scripture is the word of God and should be taken literally by state (2014) Switch to: State among adults who say their holy scripture is the word of God and should be taken literally by sources of guidance on right and wrong

% of adults who say their holy scripture is the word of God and should be taken literally who say they look to…most for guidance on right and wrong

StateReligionPhilosophy/reasonCommon senseScienceDon't knowSample size
Alabama63%3%29%2%3%245
Arizona60%4%29%6%1%172
Arkansas65%5%27%3%< 1%135
California57%5%29%8%2%822
Colorado64%3%24%4%5%106
Florida60%4%31%4%1%562
Georgia62%5%27%4%2%379
Illinois54%3%33%8%2%320
Indiana66%6%23%5%< 1%234
Kentucky64%2%32%1%1%183
Louisiana56%6%36%1%< 1%186
Maryland68%3%25%3%1%154
Michigan61%2%29%4%3%278
Minnesota60%< 1%37%3%< 1%126
Mississippi63%6%25%5%2%169
Missouri62%5%27%3%4%186
New Jersey50%6%32%10%2%171
New York49%10%34%6%2%400
North Carolina67%3%25%3%3%352
Ohio55%5%36%4%1%336
Oklahoma63%3%25%5%4%152
Pennsylvania55%3%35%5%2%368
South Carolina63%5%27%3%2%230
Tennessee60%2%34%1%2%297
Texas63%4%27%5%2%935
Virginia65%3%28%3%< 1%262
Washington71%5%18%4%1%145
West Virginia71%1%25%1%1%134
Wisconsin64%4%25%4%4%158
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