Results of a new Gallup poll show that only three in ten Americans take the Bible literally as the “actual word of God.” Nearly half of Americans say the Bible is the “inspired” word of God, but it should not be taken literally. About 17 percent say the Bible is simply a book of stories written by men. In 1980, 40 percent of Americans believed the Bible should be taken literally, with only 27 percent taking it literally in 2001. Forty-six percent of those with less than a high-school level education take the Bible literally; only 16 percent of those with postgraduate educations do.
