Nearly half of American adults don't believe the Bible is literally true: study

[Michie]

While significant majorities of Evangelicals, black Protestants and Americans in the South continue to hold fast to literal belief in Scripture, a new study has found that nearly half of American adults see the Bible as a collection of helpful but “ancient myths” that are “not literally true.”

A majority of Americans also believe worshiping at home alone or with their family is an acceptable replacement for attending church services, while significant minorities don’t believe in the resurrection or that Jesus is even God.

The findings of the study are reflected in The Ligonier State of Theology 2025report conducted by Lifeway Research. Some 3,001 American adults were surveyed between Jan. 6-15, with a 95% confidence that the sampling error from the survey does not exceed +1.9%.

Their responses revealed more nuanced and syncretic beliefs about God than previous generations, most of whom viewed the Bible as the literal Word of God.

Continued below.

Nearly half of American adults don't believe the Bible is literally true: study

While significant majorities of Evangelicals, black protestants and Americans in the South continue to hold fast to literal belief in Scripture, a new study has found that nearly half of American

www.christianpost.com

 

[PloverWing]

I emphatically hate the wording of that question on their survey: "The Bible, like all sacred writings, contains helpful accounts of ancient myths but is not literally true." [ Strongly agree / somewhat agree / somewhat disagree / strongly disagree / not sure ]

There are so many different kinds of literature in the Bible. Is the story of Eden literally true? no, probably mythology. Was Nebuchadnezzar literally the ruler of the Babylonian empire? yes. Do the mountains literally clap their hands? don't be silly. Should we literally refrain from stealing from other people? in general, yes. As a faithful, church-attending, reasonably-well-educated Christian, I really don't know how I'd answer this question. They need an option for "this question is ill-formed".

I object to the wording of some of the other questions too, but this is the one that made Christian Post's headline.

 

[RileyG]

I emphatically hate the wording of that question on their survey: "The Bible, like all sacred writings, contains helpful accounts of ancient myths but is not literally true." [ Strongly agree / somewhat agree / somewhat disagree / strongly disagree / not sure ]

There are so many different kinds of literature in the Bible. Is the story of Eden literally true? no, probably mythology. Was Nebuchadnezzar literally the ruler of the Babylonian empire? yes. Do the mountains literally clap their hands? don't be silly. Should we literally refrain from stealing from other people? in general, yes. As a faithful, church-attending, reasonably-well-educated Christian, I really don't know how I'd answer this question. They need an option for "this question is ill-formed".

I object to the wording of some of the other questions too, but this is the one that made Christian Post's headline.

Well said. Are people literally sheep and goats when Christ returns? Are Christians really lambs?

 

[timewerx]

While significant majorities of Evangelicals, black Protestants and Americans in the South continue to hold fast to literal belief in Scripture, a new study has found that nearly half of American adults see the Bible as a collection of helpful but “ancient myths” that are “not literally true.”

A majority of Americans also believe worshiping at home alone or with their family is an acceptable replacement for attending church services, while significant minorities don’t believe in the resurrection or that Jesus is even God.

The findings of the study are reflected in The Ligonier State of Theology 2025report conducted by Lifeway Research. Some 3,001 American adults were surveyed between Jan. 6-15, with a 95% confidence that the sampling error from the survey does not exceed +1.9%.

Their responses revealed more nuanced and syncretic beliefs about God than previous generations, most of whom viewed the Bible as the literal Word of God.

Continued below.

Nearly half of American adults don't believe the Bible is literally true: study

While significant majorities of Evangelicals, black protestants and Americans in the South continue to hold fast to literal belief in Scripture, a new study has found that nearly half of American

www.christianpost.com

I personally used to think the whole Bible is literally true.

But around 10 years ago, my beliefs started changing. I'm seeing more and more proof that many Biblical teachings does not stand up to scrutiny even if I'm not looking for them.

Even if we don't take historical validity into the account, the ethics and morality of some teachings does not produce positive results (good fruit), rather they produce bad fruit even if Christians are obeying them to the letter. Even if misinterpretation is accounted for, and ironically, even with teachings that are so plain and obvious, there's no room for misinterpretation.

People will follow what is agreeable to their own convictions or abandon ones that does not agree with their conviction even if the Messiah Himself is the one preaching (John 6:66)

The most Christian nations in the world tend to be horrible places. Very high crime rates, very dangerous, highest corruption levels, high poverty rates. To think that Christianity have nothing to do with it is fantasy because in these nations, the corrupt leaders are Christians. Their crime bosses and their members are also Christians!!

Remember John 6:66. People will abandon teachings that does not agree with their convictions. So that means these evil people found something that agrees with their evil ways. If it is called "Christian" then it must a counterfeit, a fake one teaching a different Jesus.

 

[SavedByGrace3]

I suspect many, if not most, of the people who do not believe the Bible is true are not Christians, are not theists, and likely do not believe in anything spiritual at all. Given that only 20% of Americans believed the Bible is the literal word of God, I do not think this is an unexpected or significant state result.
I do wonder who was included in this poll.
83% of Americans believe in God.
70% of U.S. adults describe themselves as spiritual.​

62% of U.S. adults identify as Christian.
As to the Bible:
In 2022, Gallup found that only 20% of Americans believed the Bible is the literal word of God, while 49% viewed it as inspired by God but not entirely literal, and 29% considered it a collection of human writings.
Thank you for this thread.​

 

[timewerx]

I suspect many, if not most, of the people who do not believe the Bible is true are not Christians, are not theists, and likely do not believe in anything spiritual at all. Given that only 20% of Americans believed the Bible is the literal word of God, I do not think this is an unexpected or significant state result.​

I do wonder who was included in this poll.​

83% of Americans believe in God.​

70% of U.S. adults describe themselves as spiritual.​

62% of U.S. adults identify as Christian.​

As to the Bible:​

In 2022, Gallup found that only 20% of Americans believed the Bible is the literal word of God, while 49% viewed it as inspired by God but not entirely literal, and 29% considered it a collection of human writings.​

Thank you for this thread.​

Christians who frequent forums as we have are a different flavor than everybody else.

And Christians you talk to in a public setting like a church or Bible study isn't going to tell you truth what they truly feel about the Bible out of fear of persecution if what they say is offensive to mainstream beliefs.

It really takes more faith and spiritual fortitude to go against the majority. Blind belief is easy but isn't really what Jesus taught. Everything must be subjected to scrutiny.

 

[Ivan Hlavanda]

Is the story of Eden literally true? no, probably mythology.

This is where you are terribly wrong.

The first 3 chapters of Genesis are literal history.

Understanding these 3 chapters as mythology will result in wrong understanding of the whole Bible.

Saying Adam and Eve were not literal for example, would have serious implications for virtually every tenet and doctrine of the Christian faith. If Adam was not a real man, then sin did not enter the world through one man as Romans 5:12 states. How, then, did sin enter the world? Further, if the New Testament is wrong about how sin entered the world, what else is it wrong about? If Romans 5:12 is wrong, how do we know that the entirety of Romans 5:8–15 is not wrong? If the story of Adam and Eve is not to be taken literally—if they did not really exist—then there was no one to rebel, there was no fall into sin. Satan, the great deceiver, would like nothing better than for people to believe that the Bible should not be taken literally and that the story of the fall of man is a myth. Why? Because once we start denying parts of the Bible, we lose our trust in the Bible. Why should we believe anything God’s Word says if we cannot trust everything that it says?

Jesus taught that God created one man and one woman (Mark 10:6) and mentions Abel, a son of Adam and Eve in Luke 11:51. Was Jesus wrong in His beliefs? Or did Jesus know there were no literal Adam and Eve and He was simply accommodating His teaching to the beliefs of the people (i.e., lying)? If Jesus is wrong in His beliefs, He is not God. If Jesus is intentionally deceiving people, He is sinning and therefore cannot be the Savior (1 Peter 1:19).

That is why this is such a serious issue. To deny the literalness of Adam and Eve is to place oneself in opposition to Jesus and the apostle Paul. If one has the audacity to claim he is right and Jesus and Paul are wrong, then Jesus is a sinner, not God and not the Savior; the apostle Paul is a false prophet; and the Bible is not inspired, inerrant, or trustworthy.

 

[PloverWing]

This is where you are terribly wrong.

The first 3 chapters of Genesis are literal history.

Understanding these 3 chapters as mythology will result in wrong understanding of the whole Bible.

This is probably the point of view that the authors of the survey had in mind. I still wish they'd been more careful in how they worded the question, though. Nobody (I think) interprets the clapping mountains literally; the disagreement is over which parts of the Bible are literal and which are figurative. If the survey authors had worded their question similarly to your wording above, "All of the events described in the book of Genesis are literal history," then we'd have a clearer idea of what the question is asking.

 

[FireDragon76]

I don't think the literal/non-literal framing is helpful.

 

[FireDragon76]

This is probably the point of view that the authors of the survey had in mind. I still wish they'd been more careful in how they worded the question, though. Nobody (I think) interprets the clapping mountains literally; the disagreement is over which parts of the Bible are literal and which are figurative. If the survey authors had worded their question similarly to your wording above, "All of the events described in the book of Genesis are literal history," then we'd have a clearer idea of what the question is asking.

The image of mountains clapping is a noteworthy example of this false dichotomy because this kind of language has its origins in animism, which later became "poetic language" or reflecting a "sacramental worldview". But at one time it was indeed accepted as commonsense truth understood through symbols. Not in the sense that mountains have hands, but that people experienced the world as alive, without the rigid categories of western modernity.

Of course, this idea is strange in modern western culture, but you can see something like that echoed in Francis of Assisi's "Canticle of the Creatures".

 

[Jerry N.]

Some nuance is needed to say that the Bible is literal and that every word is inspired by God. For example, the writer of I Chronicles 1-9 was probably being as accurate and truthful as possible, but it didn’t require divine intervention. Hopefully, the lady in Song of Songs didn’t actually look like one of Pharaoh’s mares (Song of Songs 1:9). Even in the letters of Paul, he writes, “Now concerning virgins I have no commandment of the Lord: yet I give my judgment, as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful.” (I Corinthians 7:25) When the Bible states, “God said, …” it is the highest divine inspiration. The problems with Genesis have been discussed on this forum plenty of times, but one has to take into account that Moses was narrating in relation to his own world view. It is all true, but one has to take into account that it wasn’t meant to be a science lesson. If God dictated it to Moses, He was taking into account Moses’s limited understanding and communicating His relationship to mankind, which was the focus. Anyway, I agree, to a large extent, with the comments above. Everything in the Bible being true is not the same as taking it literally. God probably did it intentionally, so we would wonder and discuss and focus on Him.