The State of the Bible in America
More Americans see the Bible as the infallible and inspired word of God with some symbolism, which should not be taken literally, according to the American Bible Society's State of the Bible 2015 report.
The report, which was produced by Barna Group for the American Bible Society in New York, examines issues such as: perceptions of the Bible; its penetration; Bible engagement; Bible literacy; moral decline and social impact; and level of giving to nonprofit organizations.
According to the report, in a nationwide telephone and online survey of American adults, some five different descriptions of the Bible were presented and "more adults believe it to be inspired (with some symbolism) than literal."
"A plurality, one-third, says the Bible is the inspired word of God and has no errors, though some verses are meant to be symbolic (33 percent)," notes the report, which highlights that it is a statistically significant increase over 2014 when only 30 percent of respondents held this view of the Bible.
