Region among Mainline Protestants by interpretation of scripture (2014) Switch to: Interpreting scripture among Mainline Protestants by region

% of Mainline Protestants who are in…

Interpreting scriptureNortheastSouthMidwestWestSample size
Word of God; should be taken literally17%40%28%15%1,266
Word of God; not everything taken literally17%37%30%16%2,158
Word of God; other/don't know15%38%27%20%177
Not the word of God22%32%25%20%1,841
Other/don't know16%37%27%20%641
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: Northeast, South, Midwest, West