Importance of the Bible (Demographic Patterns)

How important is the Bible in helping you make decisions about your life? (Exploring Religious America, 2002)

Importance of the Bible by Age (Exploring Religious America, 2002)

	18-34	35-44	45-54	55-64	65+	Missing	TOTAL
Very important	54.7% 291	55.5% 211	58.1% 205	63.2% 165	71.4% 337	3	60.5% 1209
Somewhat important	23.9% 127	28.9% 110	24.1% 85	21.8% 57	14.0% 66	0	22.3% 445
Somewhat unimportant	9.8% 52	7.4% 28	9.9% 35	6.5% 17	5.1% 24	1	7.8% 156
Very unimportant	9.4% 50	6.8% 26	6.5% 23	6.5% 17	7.2% 34	0	7.5% 150
Don't know/Not applicable/Refused	2.3% 12	1.3% 5	1.4% 5	1.9% 5	2.3% 11	0	1.9% 38
TOTAL	100% 532	100% 380	100% 353	100% 261	100% 472	4	1998

Importance of the Bible by Gender (Exploring Religious America, 2002)

	Male	Female	TOTAL
Very important	51.8% 451	67.2% 761	60.5% 1212
Somewhat important	24.7% 215	20.3% 230	22.2% 445
Somewhat unimportant	11.8% 103	4.8% 54	7.8% 157
Very unimportant	9.5% 83	5.9% 67	7.5% 150
Don't know/Not applicable/Refused	2.1% 18	1.8% 20	1.9% 38
TOTAL	100% 870	100% 1132	2002

Importance of the Bible by Political party (Exploring Religious America, 2002)

	Democrat	Republican	Independent	Other party (volunteered)	Don't know/Not applicable/Refused	TOTAL
Very important	63.4% 424	70.1% 352	49.5% 320	54.5% 18	64.5% 98	60.5% 1212
Somewhat important	20.8% 139	19.5% 98	27.2% 176	12.1% 4	18.4% 28	22.2% 445
Somewhat unimportant	6.9% 46	6.0% 30	11.0% 71	15.2% 5	3.3% 5	7.8% 157
Very unimportant	7.9% 53	4.0% 20	9.9% 64	9.1% 3	6.6% 10	7.5% 150
Don't know/Not applicable/Refused	1.0% 7	0.4% 2	2.3% 15	9.1% 3	7.2% 11	1.9% 38
TOTAL	100% 669	100% 502	100% 646	100% 33	100% 152	2002

Importance of the Bible by Race (Exploring Religious America, 2002)

	White	Black	Asian	Other	Missing	TOTAL
Very important	57.3% 878	91.9% 170	38.1% 16	60.4% 122	26	60.4% 1186
Somewhat important	24.1% 369	6.5% 12	23.8% 10	23.8% 48	6	22.4% 439
Somewhat unimportant	8.7% 134	0.5% 1	4.8% 2	8.4% 17	3	7.8% 154
Very unimportant	8.3% 128	0.5% 1	16.7% 7	5.4% 11	3	7.5% 147
Don't know/Not applicable/Refused	1.6% 24	0.5% 1	16.7% 7	2.0% 4	2	1.8% 36
TOTAL	100% 1533	100% 185	100% 42	100% 202	40	1962

Importance of the Bible by Education (Exploring Religious America, 2002)

		HS	Sm college	College	Post-grad	Missing	TOTAL
Very important	80.9% 152	66.8% 435	58.8% 306	52.7% 223	39.0% 73	23	60.4% 1189
Somewhat important	10.6% 20	21.5% 140	23.8% 124	23.9% 101	29.9% 56	4	22.4% 441
Somewhat unimportant	2.7% 5	4.8% 31	8.7% 45	11.1% 47	15.0% 28	1	7.9% 156
Very unimportant	4.3% 8	5.4% 35	6.7% 35	10.9% 46	12.8% 24	2	7.5% 148
Don't know/Not applicable/Refused	1.6% 3	1.5% 10	1.9% 10	1.4% 6	3.2% 6	3	1.8% 35
TOTAL	100% 188	100% 651	100% 520	100% 423	100% 187	33	1969

Importance of the Bible by Religious preference (Exploring Religious America, 2002)

	Catholic	Protestant	Other Chri	Jewish	Other	Missing	TOTAL
Very important	48.1% 235	70.5% 394	78.6% 480	26.3% 10	26.6% 70	23	60.7% 1189
Somewhat important	35.4% 173	20.0% 112	15.5% 95	31.6% 12	18.3% 48	5	22.4% 440
Somewhat unimportant	9.6% 47	5.9% 33	4.1% 25	23.7% 9	14.8% 39	4	7.8% 153
Very unimportant	5.5% 27	3.0% 17	1.1% 7	18.4% 7	33.5% 88	4	7.4% 146
Don't know/Not applicable/Refused	1.4% 7	0.5% 3	0.7% 4	0.0% 0	6.8% 18	6	1.6% 32
TOTAL	100% 489	100% 559	100% 611	100% 38	100% 263	42	1960

Notes

The purpose of the Exploring Religious America survey was to examine the extent of the nation's tolerance of religious diversity, familiarity with different faiths, and views on Islam, extremism and future conflict -especially in the aftermath of September 11th. The survey was part of a series of five special programs airing on the Public Broadcasting Service television program Religion & Ethics Newsweekly (http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/), and it was the subject of a cover story in U.S. News & World Report (http://www.usnews.com/usnews/home.htm). The series, which began on April 26, 2002, also examined broader questions about the role of religious beliefs and experiences in the U.S. As of July 7, 2003, a summary of the poll and survey results for the Exploring Religious America could be found at: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week534/specialreport.html.