[lbo-talk] 1/3 of Americans believe Bible is literally true

[Doug Henwood]

<http://www.galluppoll.com/content/?ci=27682>

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 ±3 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 ±2 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.