Interpreting scripture among adults who say that government aid to the poor does more good than harm by religious group (2014) Switch to: Religious tradition among adults who say that government aid to the poor does more good than harm by interpretation of scripture

% of adults who say that government aid to the poor does more good than harm 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
Buddhist3%9%1%74%14%195
Catholic27%33%2%30%7%3,406
Evangelical Protestant50%32%3%10%5%3,065
Hindu14%14%< 1%63%10%114
Historically Black Protestant61%24%2%8%5%1,285
Jehovah's Witness45%42%7%2%4%142
Jewish6%20%1%68%5%567
Mainline Protestant22%32%2%34%10%2,890
Mormon26%51%4%14%5%209
Muslim37%32%8%15%7%146
Unaffiliated (religious "nones")9%9%1%76%5%4,566
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