Demographics in U.S. Congregations Survey, Parishioners

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BIBLE Which statement comes closest to your view of the Bible?   1) The Bible is God's word, to be taken literally word for word   2) The Bible is God's word, to be interpreted in the light of its historical/cultural context   3) The Bible is not the word of God, but contains God's word to us   4) The Bible is an ancient book with little value today   5) Don't know

Pie Chart Bar Chart Cumulative Bar Chart

Category	Frequency	Percentage	Cumulative Percentage	Z-Score
The Bible is God's word, to be taken literally word for word	174	26.2%	26.2%	-1.25
The Bible is God's word, to be interpreted in the light of its historical/cultural context	388	58.5%	84.8%	.1
The Bible is not the word of God, but contains God's word to us	89	13.4%	98.2%	1.45
The Bible is an ancient book with little value today	1	.2%	98.3%	2.8
Don't know	11	1.7%	100%	4.16

Variable Comparisons

Age Gender Education Religion Church attendance Race

Age (I-AGE)

	1900-1930	1931-1950	1951-1960	1961-1970	1971-1980	1981-1995	TOTAL
The Bible is God's word, to be taken literally word for word	25.3% 22	22.2% 53	28.7% 49	26.1% 24	37.5% 21	27.8% 5	26.2% 174
The Bible is God's word, to be interpreted in the light of its historical/cultural context	52.9% 46	59.4% 142	56.1% 96	66.3% 61	57.1% 32	61.1% 11	58.5% 388
The Bible is not the word of God, but contains God's word to us	18.4% 16	15.1% 36	15.2% 26	7.6% 7	3.6% 2	11.1% 2	13.4% 89
The Bible is an ancient book with little value today	0.0% 0	0.4% 1	0.0% 0	0.0% 0	0.0% 0	0.0% 0	0.2% 1
Don't know	3.4% 3	2.9% 7	0.0% 0	0.0% 0	1.8% 1	0.0% 0	1.7% 11
TOTAL	100.0% 87	100.0% 239	100.0% 171	100.0% 92	100.0% 56	100.0% 18	663

Gender (I-GENDER)

	Female	Male	TOTAL
The Bible is God's word, to be taken literally word for word	26.5% 113	26.4% 61	26.5% 174
The Bible is God's word, to be interpreted in the light of its historical/cultural context	58.7% 250	57.6% 133	58.3% 383
The Bible is not the word of God, but contains God's word to us	13.4% 57	13.4% 31	13.4% 88
The Bible is an ancient book with little value today	0.2% 1	0.0% 0	0.2% 1
Don't know	1.2% 5	2.6% 6	1.7% 11
TOTAL	100.0% 426	100.0% 231	657

Education (I-EDUC)

	Less than completing high school	Completed high school	Trade certificate or Associate degere	Bachelors degree	Masters degree/Doctorate degree/graduate degree	TOTAL
The Bible is God's word, to be taken literally word for word	50.0% 9	45.2% 56	40.7% 48	19.2% 42	10.7% 19	26.5% 174
The Bible is God's word, to be interpreted in the light of its historical/cultural context	38.9% 7	41.1% 51	51.7% 61	65.8% 144	68.0% 121	58.4% 384
The Bible is not the word of God, but contains God's word to us	5.6% 1	11.3% 14	6.8% 8	12.8% 28	20.2% 36	13.2% 87
The Bible is an ancient book with little value today	0.0% 0	0.0% 0	0.0% 0	0.5% 1	0.0% 0	0.2% 1
Don't know	5.6% 1	2.4% 3	0.8% 1	1.8% 4	1.1% 2	1.7% 11
TOTAL	100.0% 18	100.0% 124	100.0% 118	100.0% 219	100.0% 178	657

Religion (I-RELIGION)

	Assemblies of God	Episcopal	United Methodist Church	TOTAL
The Bible is God's word, to be taken literally word for word	69.5% 91	5.2% 12	23.4% 71	26.2% 174
The Bible is God's word, to be interpreted in the light of its historical/cultural context	26.7% 35	74.7% 171	60.1% 182	58.5% 388
The Bible is not the word of God, but contains God's word to us	3.1% 4	18.3% 42	14.2% 43	13.4% 89
The Bible is an ancient book with little value today	0.0% 0	0.0% 0	0.3% 1	0.2% 1
Don't know	0.8% 1	1.7% 4	2.0% 6	1.7% 11
TOTAL	100.0% 131	100.0% 229	100.0% 303	663

Church attendance (I-ATTEND)

	Once a month or less	Two to three times a month	Usually every week	More than once a week	TOTAL
The Bible is God's word, to be taken literally word for word	0.0% 0	14.0% 12	23.9% 101	44.5% 57	25.9% 170
The Bible is God's word, to be interpreted in the light of its historical/cultural context	45.0% 9	64.0% 55	62.6% 265	44.5% 57	58.8% 386
The Bible is not the word of God, but contains God's word to us	40.0% 8	18.6% 16	12.3% 52	10.2% 13	13.5% 89
The Bible is an ancient book with little value today	5.0% 1	0.0% 0	0.0% 0	0.0% 0	0.2% 1
Don't know	10.0% 2	3.5% 3	1.2% 5	0.8% 1	1.7% 11
TOTAL	100.0% 20	100.0% 86	100.0% 423	100.0% 128	657

Race (I-RACE)

	Asian or Pacific Islander	Black or African American	Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin	Indian (American) or Alaskan Native	White or Caucasian	Some other race (please specify):	TOTAL
The Bible is God's word, to be taken literally word for word	30.0% 3	28.0% 7	55.6% 10	0.0% 0	24.8% 146	62.5% 5	26.2% 171
The Bible is God's word, to be interpreted in the light of its historical/cultural context	50.0% 5	52.0% 13	44.4% 8	100.0% 4	59.5% 350	37.5% 3	58.7% 383
The Bible is not the word of God, but contains God's word to us	20.0% 2	16.0% 4	0.0% 0	0.0% 0	13.8% 81	0.0% 0	13.3% 87
The Bible is an ancient book with little value today	0.0% 0	0.0% 0	0.0% 0	0.0% 0	0.2% 1	0.0% 0	0.2% 1
Don't know	0.0% 0	4.0% 1	0.0% 0	0.0% 0	1.7% 10	0.0% 0	1.7% 11
TOTAL	100.0% 10	100.0% 25	100.0% 18	100.0% 4	100.0% 588	100.0% 8	653