Baylor Religion Survey, Wave V (2017)

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Q21 (Weighted by WEIGHT) What is the primary way you know how God wants you to live? Choose the best answer that applies to you.   1) From religious or church teachings   2) From the Bible   3) Through human reason   4) I know in my heart or through my personal experience with God   5) I don't know   6) I do not believe in God

Pie Chart Bar Chart Cumulative Bar Chart

Category	Frequency	Percentage	Cumulative Percentage
From religious or church teachings	210	14.5%	14.5%
From the Bible	298	20.6%	35.1%
Through human reason	225	15.5%	50.6%
I know in my heart or through my personal experience with God	398	27.4%	78.0%
I don't know	125	8.6%	86.6%
I do not believe in God	194	13.4%	100.0%
Missing	43

* The number of missing cases reported above is unweighted. Missing cases are not displayed in tables below.

Variable Comparisons

Age Education Religion Race

Age (I-AGE)

	Less than 25	25-34	35-44	45-54	55-64	65+	TOTAL
From religious or church teachings	6.5% 7	9.7% 27	15.3% 27	12.7% 34	15.7% 35	18.5% 52	13.6% 182
From the Bible	17.6% 19	15.1% 42	15.8% 28	26.2% 70	21.1% 47	22.8% 64	20.2% 270
Through human reason	16.7% 18	15.1% 42	19.2% 34	12.4% 33	17.0% 38	16.7% 47	15.9% 212
I know in my heart or through my personal experience with God	33.3% 36	24.8% 69	20.9% 37	29.2% 78	29.6% 66	29.9% 84	27.7% 370
I don't know	5.6% 6	15.1% 42	4.5% 8	8.2% 22	8.1% 18	7.1% 20	8.7% 116
I do not believe in God	20.4% 22	20.1% 56	24.3% 43	11.2% 30	8.5% 19	5.0% 14	13.8% 184
TOTAL	100.0% 108	100.0% 278	100.0% 177	100.0% 267	100.0% 223	100.0% 281	1334

Education (I-EDUC)

	No high school degree	High school graduate (Grade 12 with diploma or GED certificate)	Some college	Four year bachelor's degree from a college or university (e.g., BS, BA, AB)	Postgraduate	TOTAL
From religious or church teachings	6.1% 8	17.9% 69	11.9% 51	19.7% 43	13.8% 34	14.5% 205
From the Bible	27.5% 36	25.9% 100	19.1% 82	14.2% 31	13.4% 33	20.0% 282
Through human reason	11.5% 15	13.7% 53	17.2% 74	14.7% 32	19.5% 48	15.7% 222
I know in my heart or through my personal experience with God	30.5% 40	27.7% 107	31.0% 133	24.8% 54	23.6% 58	27.8% 392
I don't know	12.2% 16	5.7% 22	9.1% 39	7.3% 16	11.4% 28	8.6% 121
I do not believe in God	12.2% 16	9.1% 35	11.7% 50	19.3% 42	18.3% 45	13.3% 188
TOTAL	100.0% 131	100.0% 386	100.0% 429	100.0% 218	100.0% 246	1410

Religion (I-RELIGION)

	Evangelical Protestant	Mainline Protestant	Black Protestant	Catholic	Jewish or other religions	No Religion	TOTAL
From religious or church teachings	10.6% 43	20.5% 34	8.0% 8	26.0% 93	13.6% 16	3.9% 10	14.5% 204
From the Bible	42.8% 174	14.5% 24	42.0% 42	8.7% 31	14.4% 17	1.9% 5	20.8% 293
Through human reason	7.9% 32	24.7% 41	14.0% 14	20.7% 74	22.9% 27	10.9% 28	15.4% 216
I know in my heart or through my personal experience with God	31.7% 129	27.1% 45	31.0% 31	34.6% 124	23.7% 28	10.5% 27	27.3% 384
I don't know	5.9% 24	9.6% 16	5.0% 5	8.9% 32	8.5% 10	12.8% 33	8.5% 120
I do not believe in God	1.2% 5	3.6% 6	0.0% 0	1.1% 4	16.9% 20	60.1% 155	13.5% 190
TOTAL	100.0% 407	100.0% 166	100.0% 100	100.0% 358	100.0% 118	100.0% 258	1407

Race (I-RACE)

	White	Black	Asian	Other races	TOTAL
From religious or church teachings	16.5% 180	10.6% 17	0.0% 0	8.3% 13	14.5% 210
From the Bible	18.3% 199	31.7% 51	11.9% 5	27.6% 43	20.6% 298
Through human reason	14.9% 162	19.9% 32	21.4% 9	14.1% 22	15.5% 225
I know in my heart or through my personal experience with God	27.3% 298	32.3% 52	16.7% 7	25.6% 40	27.4% 397
I don't know	9.2% 100	4.3% 7	11.9% 5	8.3% 13	8.6% 125
I do not believe in God	13.9% 151	1.2% 2	38.1% 16	16.0% 25	13.4% 194
TOTAL	100.0% 1090	100.0% 161	100.0% 42	100.0% 156	1449