Interpreting scripture among adults who pray daily by religious group (2014) Switch to: Religious tradition among adults who pray daily by interpretation of scripture

% of adults who pray daily 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
Buddhist11%13%1%62%14%110
Catholic32%39%4%19%7%4,335
Evangelical Protestant61%26%4%5%4%6,852
Hindu19%16%1%51%12%102
Historically Black Protestant61%23%3%7%6%1,538
Jehovah's Witness47%41%7%2%3%221
Jewish27%39%4%23%7%213
Mainline Protestant32%37%4%17%10%3,342
Mormon35%55%5%2%2%571
Muslim49%28%12%8%3%164
Orthodox Christian27%47%3%15%7%100
Unaffiliated (religious "nones")27%21%2%40%10%1,333
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