For the first time in Gallup's four-decade trend biblical literalism has not surpassed biblical skepticism and that is a reason for celebration. 24% of Americans still believe the Bible is "the actual word of God, and is to be taken literally, word for word," while 26% of Americans think of it as "a book of fables, legends, history and moral precepts recorded by man." Of course, about half of Americans still stick to the golden middle, saying the Bible is the inspired word of God but that not all of it should be taken literally.
From the mid-1970s through 1984, close to 40% of Americans considered the Bible the literal word of God and only 12-15% of respondents thought those are mere stories. That trend has changed and even the number of Americans who don’t believe in fairytales has doubled. The latest results are based on Gallup's annual Values and Beliefs poll, conducted May 3-7.
These views vary somewhat across different segments of the U.S. population. Nonwhites, adults aged 50 and older, and adults with no college education all lean toward believing the Bible is the actual word of God rather than stories and history recorded by man. On the other hand, men, whites, adults aged 18 to 29 as well as those aged 30 to 49, and college graduates lean in the other direction, with more being skeptics than literalists.
Different views can be observed in different religious preferences. For instance, Protestants (including those who generically refer to themselves as "Christian") lean toward the literalist view, while Catholics divide evenly between seeing the Bible as the literal word of God and saying it is a book of stories. Not surprisingly, the vast majority of those with no religious affiliation fall into the skeptics' group.
We can see that Americans' view of the Bible as the literal word of God has been declining over last 30 years, while their view that the Bible is a collection of fables, myths and history recorded by man has been increasing. The Bible is still considered a holy document by 47% of US adults but most of these downplay God's direct role in it. Reduced role of God can lead to a re-examination of the Bible and to its wider interpretation because if man, not God, wrote the Bible, more can and should be questioned.
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