Most Americans Believe the Bible is True

[ Back to Articles ]

October 23, 2007

Most Americans Believe the Bible is True

By Scott Presson

According to a new survey, a majority of Americans believe in God's power, in miracles and most accept well-known Bible stories as literal truth. The survey done by The Barna Group found that 75 percent of American adults believe in the biblical account of Jesus Christ rising from the dead and interpret the crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection of Christ as literal truth.

The Christian Post dot com reports that “Non-mainline Protestants were more likely to accept the resurrection as fact (95 percent) compared to mainline Protestants (83 percent) and Catholics (82 percent)”.The Barna Group defines mainline Protestants as those associated with the American Baptist, United Church of Christ, Episcopal, United Methodist, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and Presbyterian Church in the USA denominations.

“The study also found that two-thirds of adults (65 percent) believe the account of the prophet Daniel surviving in the lion's den as literally true while Catholics were less likely to take this biblical account at face value with only 51 percent interpreting it as literally true”.

“When surveyed about Moses and the parting of the Red Sea, two out of three (64 percent) Americans took a literal view of the story. Four out of five Protestants (79 percent) and three out of five Catholics (60 percent) embrace a literal interpretation of the Red Sea account”.

Researcher George Barna, who directed the study, said, "Not only do most Americans believe in the existence of God, but they believe in His power and in the miracles He performs”…"Holding back the seas, walking on water, rising from the dead, surviving in a lion cage, and killing a skilled and armed warrior with a sling shot are examples of God doing extraordinary things in the lives of ordinary people”. He also stated, "These and other Bible stories inspire people to believe that their personal trust in that powerful God is warranted. Although some people may dismiss such writings as fairy tales for children, the data indicate that the typical American has adopted these accounts as the foundation of a valued faith in God”.

Although many highly educated Americans were less likely to believe the story of Creation, 60 percent of adults believe God created the universe in six days. While 73 percent of adults who did not attend college believe this story is literally accurate, only 38 percent of college graduates hold that view.

Among ethnic groups, blacks were most likely to interpret biblical stories as literal truth.

Barna noted a disconnect between belief and practice.

"On the one hand we have tens of millions of people who view these narratives as reflections of the reality, the authority and the involvement of God in our lives. On the other hand, a majority of those same people harbor a stubborn indifference toward God and His desire to have intimacy with them”. "It seems that millions of Americans believe the Bible content is true, but are not willing to translate those stories into action. Sadly, for many people, the Bible has become a respected but impersonal religious history lesson that stays removed from their life."

Results were based on a nationwide survey conducted in August 2007 among 1,000 adults, age 18 and older.