UPDATE 7/14/11: Correlation of greater Bible belief with higher national unemployment level
-- From "In U.S., 3 in 10 Say They Take the Bible Literally" by Jeffrey M. Jones, Gallup 7/8/11
Three in 10 Americans interpret the Bible literally, saying it is the actual word of God. That is similar to what Gallup has measured over the last two decades, but down from the 1970s and 1980s. A 49% plurality of Americans say the Bible is the inspired word of God but that it should not be taken literally, consistently the most common view in Gallup's nearly 40-year history of this question. Another 17% consider the Bible an ancient book of stories recorded by man.
To read the entire analysis from Gallup, CLICK HERE.
From "Poll: 3 in 10 Americans Say They Believe the Bible Word for Word" by R. Leigh Coleman, Christian Post Reporter 7/9/11
Gallup polls have tracked whether Americans take the Bible literally for the past 40 years.
. . . highly religious Americans, particularly those of Protestant faiths, still commonly believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible.
Respondents to the Gallup poll were given three options as responses to the poll:
- The Bible is the actual word of God and is to be taken literally, word for word. [30%]To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
- The Bible is the inspired word of God, but not everything in it should be taken literally. [49%]
- The Bible is an ancient book of fables, legends, history, and moral precepts. [17%]
From "Gallup Poll on the Bible" by John W. Martens, America (Catholic weekly) 7/8/11
. . . I am slightly confused by what the poll was attempting to measure, as it seems to confuse "literal interpretation" of the Bible with belief in the Bible as the "actual word of God." . . .
. . . I suspect the pollsters mean that the Bible as "the actual word of God" indicates that God has directly "spoken" these words as opposed to a view of the Bible as written by human beings, somehow under the inspired direction of God, or inspired by God, yet that is not clear. I do, for instance, think the Bible is the word of God, inspired by God and written by people. . . .
To read the entire opinion column above, CLICK HERE.
From "Bible Is Word Of God Say 4 In 10 Republicans And Low-Education Americans" by David Badash, The New Civil Rights Movement 7/8/11
The Bible is the actual, literal word of God, say four out of every ten Republicans and four out of every ten low-education Americans, according to a new study released by Gallup today. The belief that the Bible is the actual word of God, and not the inspired word of God that should not be taken literally, drops dramatically in people who have any exposure to college, who attend a religious institution less than once a week, or who grow to middle-income or above. In short, the typical portrait of those who believe the Bible is the actual word of God are Republican weekly church-goers who are lower-income, lower-educated Americans.
Specifically, 42% of Republicans, 23% of Independents, and 27% of Democrats believe the Bible is the actual word of God.
46% of those with a high school or less education, 22% of those with some college, and 15% of college graduates believe the Bible is the actual word of God.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Liberals, Democrats More Likely to Disbelieve Bible, Says Gallup Poll" by Terence P. Jeffrey, CNSNews.com 7/9/11
Liberals and Democrats are more likely than conservatives, moderates, Republicans and independents to believe the Bible is nothing more than a book of fables and legends made up by man, according to a new Gallup poll.
When the respondents were broken down by political ideology and party, liberals and Democrats were more likely to reject the divine origin of the Bible. Almost a third of liberals and almost a quarter of Democrats said the Bible was a book of fables, legends, history and moral precepts recorded by man.
Seven percent of conservatives, 20 percent of moderates and 31 percent of liberals said that the Bible was an ancient book of fables, legends, history and moral precepts recorded by man.
Fifty-five percent of moderates, 48 percent of liberals, and 45 percent of conservatives said the Bible was the inspired word of God.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read Americans Believe in God: Gallup Poll
