Interpreting scripture among adults ages 65 and older by importance of religion (2014) Switch to: Importance of religion in one's life among adults ages 65 and older by interpretation of scripture
% of adults ages 65 and older who say the holy scripture is…
| Importance of religion in one's life | Word of God; should be taken literally | Word of God; not everything taken literally | Word of God; other/don't know | Not the word of God | Other/don't know | Sample size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Very important | 52% | 27% | 5% | 9% | 7% | 5,785 |
| Somewhat important | 15% | 36% | 2% | 36% | 11% | 1,851 |
| Not too important | 5% | 14% | < 1% | 71% | 9% | 740 |
| Not at all important | 3% | 4% | 1% | 86% | 7% | 848 |
| Don't know | 14% | 18% | 11% | 36% | 21% | 103 |
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
