Sources of guidance on right and wrong by religious group (2014) Switch to: Religious tradition by sources of guidance on right and wrong

% of adults who say they look to…most for guidance on right and wrong

Religious traditionReligionPhilosophy/reasonCommon senseScienceDon't knowSample size
Buddhist8%28%44%16%5%264
Catholic30%10%48%10%2%7,202
Evangelical Protestant60%5%30%3%2%8,593
Hindu6%19%50%24%1%199
Historically Black Protestant47%6%41%4%2%1,916
Jehovah's Witness78%1%14%3%4%245
Jewish17%17%50%14%3%847
Mainline Protestant29%10%51%6%3%6,083
Mormon64%4%25%4%3%664
Muslim37%9%36%13%4%237
Orthodox Christian27%14%48%8%3%186
Unaffiliated (religious "nones")7%18%57%17%2%7,556
Sample sizes and margins of error vary from subgroup to subgroup, from year to year and from state to state. You can see the sample size for the estimates in this chart on rollover or in the last column of the table. And visit this table to see approximate margins of error for a group of a given size. Readers should always bear in mind the approximate margin of error for the group they are examining when making comparisons with other groups or assessing the significance of trends over time. For full question wording, see the survey questionnaire.

Learn More: Religion, Philosophy/reason, Common sense, Science