Does your congregation teach that the Bible is the literal and inerrant word of God? Remarks: This item was asked only of Christian congregations. (National Congregations Study, Cumulative Dataset (1998, 2006-2007, 2012, and 2018-2019))
Each question was asked of a key informant from the congregation, such as a minister, priest, rabbi, or other staff person or leader.
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Related Topics
Demographic Patterns
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View of the Bible (Demographic Patterns)
View of the Bible by Political Ideology (2018-2019)
| More conservative | Right in the middle | More liberal | Missing | TOTAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | 484 | 329 | 48 | 52 | 861 |
| No | 40 | 74 | 75 | 7 | 189 |
| Missing | |||||
| TOTAL | 524 | 403 | 123 | 59 | 1050 |
View of the Bible by Region (2018-2019)
| New England or Mid-Atlantic | East North Central or West North Central | South Atlantic, East South Central or West South Central | Mountain or Pacific | TOTAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | 74 | 215 | 482 | 142 | 913 |
| No | 58 | 66 | 41 | 31 | 196 |
| Missing | |||||
| TOTAL | 132 | 281 | 523 | 173 | 1109 |
View of the Bible by Religious Tradition (2018-2019)
| Roman Catholic | White conservative, evangelical or fundamentalist | Black Protestant | White liberal or moderate | Non-Christian | TOTAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | 55 | 512 | 256 | 91 | 0 | 914 |
| No | 17 | 17 | 11 | 151 | 0 | 196 |
| Missing | ||||||
| TOTAL | 72 | 529 | 267 | 242 | 0 | 1110 |
View of the Bible by Theology (2018-2019)
| More conservative | Right in the middle | More liberal | Missing | TOTAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | 594 | 252 | 14 | 53 | 860 |
| No | 31 | 81 | 79 | 6 | 191 |
| Missing | |||||
| TOTAL | 625 | 333 | 93 | 59 | 1051 |
View of the Bible by Year of Survey
| 1998 | 2006-2007 | 2012 | 2018-2019 | TOTAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | 880 | 1183 | 1014 | 914 | 3991 |
| No | 276 | 250 | 198 | 196 | 920 |
| Missing | |||||
| TOTAL | 1156 | 1433 | 1212 | 1110 | 4911 |
Notes
The National Congregations Study (NCS) dataset fills a void in the sociological study of congregations by providing data that can be used to draw a nationally aggregate picture of congregations. Thanks to innovations in sampling techniques, the 1998 NCS data was the first nationally representative sample of American congregations. Subsequent NCS waves were conducted in 2006-07, 2012, and 2018-19. The 2006-07 NCS sample includes a subset of cases that were also interviewed in 1998. The 2012 NCS includes an oversample of Hispanic congregations. The 2018-19 NCS includes a subset of congregations that also were interviewed in 2012.
