View of the Bible - Belief Statistics Topic
Which of these statements comes closest to describing your feelings about the Bible? A.) The Bible is the actual word of God and is to be taken literally, word for word. B.)The Bible is the inspired word of God but not everything in it should be taken literally, word for word. C.)The Bible is an ancient book of fables, legends, history, and moral precepts recorded by man. (BIBLENV)(General Social Survey, 2021)
View of the Bible by Age
| 18-29 | 30-44 | 45-59 | 60-74 | 75 or older | Total | Missing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Word of God | 13.2%27 | 16.9%77 | 24.4%106 | 21.5%109 | 29.6%56 | 20.9%375 | 40 |
| Inspired word | 44.9%92 | 42.5%194 | 47.2%205 | 54.7%277 | 48.7%92 | 48.0%860 | 69 |
| Ancient book | 42.0%86 | 40.6%185 | 28.3%123 | 22.9%116 | 21.7%41 | 30.8%551 | 36 |
| Other (phone mode only, volunteered) | 0.0%0 | 0.0%0 | 0.0%0 | 0.8%4 | 0.0%0 | 0.2%4 | 0 |
| Missing | 201 | 524 | 473 | 517 | 194 | 2242 | 188 |
| Total | 100%205 | 100%456 | 100%434 | 100%506 | 100%189 | 1790 |
View of the Bible by Worship attendance
| Never | About once a year or less | Several times a year | One to three times a month | Nearly every week | Every week or several times a week | Total | Missing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Word of God | 9.3%53 | 13.0%64 | 17.1%33 | 31.4%53 | 34.7%50 | 44.7%160 | 21.4%413 | 2 |
| Inspired word | 32.0%183 | 50.8%250 | 64.2%124 | 60.4%102 | 60.4%87 | 49.7%178 | 48.0%924 | 5 |
| Ancient book | 58.3%333 | 36.0%177 | 18.7%36 | 8.3%14 | 4.9%7 | 5.3%19 | 30.4%586 | 1 |
| Other (phone mode only, volunteered) | 0.4%2 | 0.2%1 | 0.0%0 | 0.0%0 | 0.0%0 | 0.3%1 | 0.2%4 | 0 |
| Missing | 607 | 526 | 210 | 153 | 187 | 352 | 2105 | 62 |
| Total | 100%571 | 100%492 | 100%193 | 100%169 | 100%144 | 100%358 | 1927 |
View of the Bible by Household income
| Under $5,000 | $5,000 to $9,999 | $10,000 to $14,999 | $15,000 to $19,999 | $20,000 to $24,999 | $25,000 or more | Total | Missing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Word of God | 38.5%25 | 30.6%15 | 30.0%24 | 36.8%25 | 31.1%23 | 17.1%231 | 20.4%343 | 72 |
| Inspired word | 32.3%21 | 49.0%24 | 45.0%36 | 42.6%29 | 36.5%27 | 50.1%676 | 48.2%813 | 116 |
| Ancient book | 27.7%18 | 20.4%10 | 25.0%20 | 20.6%14 | 32.4%24 | 32.6%440 | 31.2%526 | 61 |
| Other (phone mode only, volunteered) | 1.5%1 | 0.0%0 | 0.0%0 | 0.0%0 | 0.0%0 | 0.1%2 | 0.2%3 | 1 |
| Missing | 79 | 52 | 87 | 72 | 75 | 1459 | 2347 | 273 |
| Total | 100%65 | 100%49 | 100%80 | 100%68 | 100%74 | 100%1349 | 1685 |
View of the Bible by Political ideology
| Extremely liberal or liberal | Slightly liberal | Moderate, middle of the road | Slightly conservative | Extremely conservative or conservative | Total | Missing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Word of God | 8.7%34 | 9.8%24 | 23.3%154 | 18.3%41 | 39.0%152 | 21.2%405 | 10 |
| Inspired word | 33.4%131 | 42.3%104 | 53.6%354 | 58.9%132 | 51.0%199 | 48.1%920 | 9 |
| Ancient book | 57.9%227 | 48.0%118 | 23.0%152 | 21.9%49 | 10.0%39 | 30.6%585 | 2 |
| Other (phone mode only, volunteered) | 0.0%0 | 0.0%0 | 0.2%1 | 0.9%2 | 0.0%0 | 0.2%3 | 1 |
| Missing | 438 | 244 | 716 | 252 | 401 | 2119 | 46 |
| Total | 100%392 | 100%246 | 100%661 | 100%224 | 100%390 | 1913 |
View of the Bible by Religion
| Protestant | Catholic | Jewish/Other | None | Total | Missing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Word of God | 36.0%296 | 17.2%71 | 10.4%14 | 5.3%29 | 21.4%410 | 5 |
| Inspired word | 55.5%456 | 65.1%269 | 43.3%58 | 25.5%140 | 48.1%923 | 6 |
| Ancient book | 8.3%68 | 17.7%73 | 45.5%61 | 69.3%381 | 30.4%583 | 4 |
| Other (phone mode only, volunteered) | 0.2%2 | 0.0%0 | 0.7%1 | 0.0%0 | 0.2%3 | 1 |
| Missing | 892 | 411 | 158 | 571 | 2113 | 65 |
| Total | 100%822 | 100%413 | 100%134 | 100%550 | 1919 |
View of the Bible by Sex
| Male | Female | Total | Missing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Word of God | 16.7%139 | 24.7%265 | 21.2%404 | 11 |
| Inspired word | 45.1%376 | 50.4%540 | 48.1%916 | 13 |
| Ancient book | 37.9%316 | 24.8%266 | 30.5%582 | 5 |
| Other (phone mode only, volunteered) | 0.4%3 | 0.1%1 | 0.2%4 | 0 |
| Missing | 902 | 1132 | 2126 | 63 |
| Total | 100%834 | 100%1072 | 1906 |
Related variables
A similar question appeared on Baylor Religion Survey, Wave II (2007) - Instructional DatasetQ18. Which one statement comes closest to your personal beliefs about the Bible? (Please mark only one box.) (BIBLE)
A similar question appeared on General Social Survey 2014 Cross-Section and Panel Combined, (Inapplicable Responses Coded as Missing)
Which of these statements comes closest to describing your feelings about the Bible? The Bible is the actual word of God and is to be taken literally, word for word; the Bible is the inspired word of God but not everything should be taken literally, word for word; the Bible is an ancient book of fables, legends, history and moral precepts recorded by man. (BIBLE)
Notes
The General Social Surveys (GSS) have been conducted by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) annually since 1972, except for the years 1979, 1981, and 1992 (a supplement was added in 1992), and biennially beginning in 1994. The GSS are designed to be part of a program of social indicator research, replicating questionnaire items and wording in order to facilitate time-trend studies. This data file has all cases and variables asked on the 2021 GSS.The 2021 cross-sectional General Social Survey has been updated to Release Version 3 as of July 2023. This Release includes the addition of respondent spouse/partner religious identities, socioeconomic statuses, and work information (including Occupation and Industry coding), and additional information about respondents' religious background.
To download syntax files for the GSS that reproduce well-known religious group recodes, including RELTRAD, please visit the ARDA's Syntax Repository.
