African Americans are more likely to read the Bible on a regular basis and view it as the word of God compared to other ethnic groups, according to recent analysis of a study conducted by the Pew Research Center.
The data from the 2014 Religious Landscape Study has shown that 54 percent of Christian and non-Christian African Americans read the Bible at least once a week outside of religious services.
In contrast, only 32 percent of whites and 38 percent of Hispanics say they read the scriptures regularly.
Only 24 percent of African Americans said they seldom or never read the Bible. Fifty percent of whites and 40 percent of Hispanics said the same.
A total of 77 percent of African Americans believe that the Bible is God's word, not just a book "written by men."
The scriptures are viewed as the word of God by a much smaller share of whites at 57 percent, and Hispanics at 65 percent.
The findings revealed that those belonging to the historically black Protestant tradition are more likely to read scripture regularly.
At least 61 percent of African Americans belonging to the group say they read the Bible at least once a week, compared to Catholics at 25 percent and mainline Protestants at 30 percent. However, members of the historically black Protestant tradition fall behind Jehovah's Witnesses (88 percent) and Mormons (77 percent) when it comes to reading the scriptures regularly.
Eighty-five percent of those belonging to the historically black Protestant tradition view the scriptures as God's word.
The same sentiments are echoed by 88 percent of members of the evangelical Protestant tradition, 91 percent of Mormons, 94 percent of Jehovah's Witnesses, 64 percent of Catholics and 62 percent of mainline Protestants.
The analysis also found that black Americans are more likely to say that the Bible or other religious texts should be interpreted literally.
Fifty percent of black Americans believe in interpreting the scriptures literally, while 26 percent of whites and 38 percent of Hispanics said the same.
African Americans are also more likely to take part in regular Bible studies, with 39 percent saying they attend group studies at least once a week. In contrast, only 22 percent of whites and 27 percent of Hispanics say they participate in group Bible studies.
Another analysis of the data from the 2014 Religious Landscape Study showed that African Americans are more likely than other ethnic groups to claim a strong religious commitment.
Almost 75 percent of black Americans say religion is very important in their lives, compared to 59 percent of Hispanics and 49 percent of whites.
When it comes to belief in God, 83 percent of black Americans say they believe with absolute certainty, compared to 59 percent of Hispanics and 61 percent of whites.
