TAMPA, Fla. — Just 20% of Americans told Gallup they believe the Bible is the literal word of God, a record-low for the polling organization since it began asking the question in 1976.
According to the Gallup poll, 29% of Americans said the Bible is a collection of "fables, legends, history, and more precepts recorded by man." The largest group, 49%, said the Bible is inspired by God, but not all of it is to be taken literally.
Gallup said the current number of people saying the Bible is the literal word of God is half of what was found in 1980 and 1984.
Breaking it down further, Gallup found 30% of protestants say the Bible is literally true compared to 15% of Catholics saying the same. Roughly two-thirds of Catholics said the Bible is the inspired word of God, but not all of it should be taken literally.
The view of religion as being very important has declined from roughly 60 percent in the early 2000's to just 44 percent in 2022 and has almost mirrored the decline in the view of the Bible being the literal word of God.
Gallup said that moving forward, politicians who subscribe to a literal interpretation of the Bible "as the basis or justification for social policy positions will likely resonate only with a declining minority of the overall U.S. population.
