1/3 of Americans believe Bible is literally true
http://www.galluppoll.com/content/?ci=3D27682
May 25, 2007 One-Third of Americans Believe the Bible is Literally True High inverse correlation between education and belief in a literal Bible
by Frank Newport GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ — About one-third of the American adult population =
believes the Bible is the actual word of God and is to be taken =
literally word for word. This percentage is slightly lower than =
several decades ago. The majority of those Americans who don’t =
believe that the Bible is literally true believe that it is the =
inspired word of God but that not everything it in should be taken =
literally. About one in five Americans believe the Bible is an =
ancient book of “fables, legends, history, and moral precepts =
recorded by man.”
Belief in a literal Bible is strongly correlated with indicators of =
religion, including church attendance and identification with a =
Protestant or other non-Catholic Christian faith. There is also a =
strong relationship between education and belief in a literal Bible, =
with such belief becoming much less prevalent among those who have =
college educations.
Background
One’s view of the authority of the Bible has been and remains a key =
focal point for many religions today.
Some denominations hold the belief in a literal Bible as a hallmark =
of their faith. The statement of “Faith and Mission” of the Southern =
Baptist Convention, for example, states that: “The Holy Bible was =
written by men divinely inspired and is God’s revelation of Himself =
to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God =
for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture =
of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true =
and trustworthy.”
Although even those who believe in a literal Bible can still be at =
odds in their attempt to interpret exactly what the Bible says about =
key areas of Scripture and moral issues, a literal belief structure =
has been the basis for justifications for a variety of important =
positions in American life. These have included opposition to =
evolution and the teaching thereof in public schools (going back to =
the days of the Scopes Monkey Trial), opposition to same-sex =
relationships, the proper relationship between husbands and wives =
with a marriage, observance of a day of rest, the belief that =
positions as preachers or priests should be maintained for men only, =
and even such seemingly unrelated topics as immigration.
Americans’ Opinions
Only about one-third of Americans today believe the Bible is =
absolutely accurate and that it should be taken literally word for =
word. The rest either feel that the Bible is the inspired word of =
God, but not literally so, or that it is a book of ancient fables, =
legends, and history as recorded by man.
Americans’ views on the Bible have not changed materially over the =
past 16 years. Gallup has asked this question about personal views of =
the Bible nine times since 1991. The percentage saying the Bible is =
the actual, literal word of God has remained in a relatively narrow =
range between 27% and 35% across this time period, with the average =
being 31%.
Prior to that point, however, the data suggest that Americans’ belief =
in a literal Bible was slightly higher. Gallup asked the question =
seven times between 1976 and 1984, during which time an average of =
38% said that the Bible is the actual word of God. At two points =
during this time period, 40% of Americans agreed with the literal =
interpretation view of the Bible.
Belief in a Literal Bible Among Sub-Groups of the Population
To provide a larger and more stable sample for purposes of analyzing =
the distribution of beliefs regarding the Bible in the American =
population, we aggregated data from the last three surveys in which =
this Bible question was asked — in May of 2005, 2006, and 2007 — =
for a sample size of 3,010 interviews.
The analysis of these data shows one demographic variable that is =
highly related to views of the Bible — education. The higher the =
level of education, the less likely the individual is to believe that =
the Bible is the actual, literal word of God.
Even though those with postgraduate educations are much less likely =
to believe in a literal Bible, the majority of that group do believe =
that the Bible is the inspired word of God, rather than solely a =
human creation.
———————————————————————— =
belief in the bible by…
…education
actual word of inspired word of =
ancient fables, history, God, literally =
God legends
H.S. or less 42 =
41 13 some college 32 =
48 19 coll grad 20 =
53 25 postgrad 11 =
57 30
…region
east 26 =
44 27 midwest 31 =
52 15 south 41 =
44 14 west 22 =
50 25
———————————————————————— =
Those who identify as Protestants or other non-Catholic Christians =
are significantly more likely to believe that the Bible is the =
literal word of God than are Catholics. Not surprisingly, those =
Americans who say they have no religious affiliation are much more =
likely than the other groups to say that the Bible is a creation of =
humans. It is interesting to note, however, that 10% of those with no =
religious identification still believe the Bible is literally the =
word of God, and another 26% say it is inspired.
There is a predictable and highly significant relationship between =
self-reported church attendance and belief in a literal Bible. Fifty- =
four percent of those who attend church weekly believe the Bible is =
the actual word of God. That figure drops in a linear fashion as =
church attendance falls, to a low point of 8% who believe in a =
literal Bible among those who report never attending church.
Church attendance is highest in the South, so it comes as no surprise =
to find that Southerners are most likely to believe in a literal =
Bible. Those in the East are least likely to believe in a literal Bible.
There is not a highly significant relationship between age and belief =
in a literal Bible.
Survey Methods
Results are based on a series of surveys based on telephone =
interviews with approximately 1,000 national adults, aged 18 and =
older, conducted by Gallup. For results based on any one total sample =
of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximim =
margin of sampling error for any given survey is =B13 percentage =
points. For the aggregated group of interviews conducted between May =
2005 and May 2007 used in portions of the above analysis, the maximim =
margin of sampling error is =B12 percentage points. In addition to =
sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in =
conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of =
public opinion polls.