GSS 1972-2024 Cumulative Datafile - Release 3

There are many different ways of picturing God. We'd like to know the 
kinds of images you are most likely to associate with God. Here is a 
card with sets of contrasting images. On a scale of 1-7 where would 
you place your image of God between the two contrasting images? (HAND 
CARD AE) The first set of contrasting images shows Mother at 1 on the 
scale and Father at 7. If you imagine God as a Mother you would place 
yourself at 1. If you imagine God as a Father, you would place 
yourself at 7. If you imagine God as somewhere between Mother and 
Father, you would place yourself at 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6. (REPEAT EXAMPLE 
AS NECESSARY FOR EACH ITEM A-F, SUBSTITUTING IMAGES A-F FOR "MOTHER" 
AND "FATHER".) Where would you place your image of God on the scale 
for . . . READ EACH SET OF IMAGES AND CIRCLE ONE CODE FOR EACH.

We are interested in what American Catholics think about religious 
matters. please select the answer from this card that comes closest 
to your own personal opinion about the following statement: Under 
certain conditions, the pope is infallible when he speaks on matters 
of faith and morals.

Under certain conditions, the pope is infallible when he speaks on 
matters of faith and morals.

What is your (SPOUSE'S) religious preference?  Is it Protestant, 
Catholic, Jewish, some other religion, or no religion?

In what religion were you raised?

In what religion were you raised?  A. What specific denomination is 
that, if any?  
 As of 2024, DENOM16 has been recoded to only account for seven broad 
denomination categories. This has been retroactively applied to all 
previous years of DENOM16. The original DENOM16 containing data 1973 
to 2022 has been renamed DENOM16_7322.

A. What specific denomination is that, if any?

Were you raised as a Jew?

Were you raised as a Jew? 
A. Were you Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, or none of these? (PROBE 
FOR EXACT DENOMINATION)

Fundamentalism/Liberalism of Respondent's Religion

NOTE: See GSS Methodological Report No. 43. If planning to perform 
trend analysis with this variable, please consult GSS Methodological 
Report No. 56.

What is your (SPOUSE'S) religious preference?  Is it Protestant, 
Catholic, Jewish, some other religion, or no religion?  A. What 
specific denomination is that, if any?  
 As of 2024, SPDEN has been recoded to only account for seven broad 
denomination categories. This has been retroactively applied to all 
previous years of SPDEN. The original SPDEN containing data 1973 to 
2022 has been renamed SPDEN_7322.

A. What specific denomination is that, if any?

What is your (SPOUSE''S) religious preference?  Is it Protestant, 
Catholic, Jewish, some other religion, or no religion?
 B. Does (s/he) consider (her/himself) Orthodox, Conservative, Reform 
or none of these? (PROBE FOR EXACT DENOMINATION)

What is your (SPOUSE''S) religious preference?  Is it Protestant, 
Catholic, Jewish, some other religion, or no religion?
 A. DOES YOUR SPOUSE CONSIDER HIMSELF/HERSELF SELF AS JEWISH

About how much do you contribute to your religion every year (not 
including school tuition)?

A. The United States Supreme Court has ruled that no state or local 
government may require the reading of the Lord's Prayer or Bible 
verses in public schools. What are your views on this--do you approve 
or disapprove of the court ruling?

B. What are your views on the reading of the Lord's Prayer or Bible 
verses in public schools? Do you think it should be required in all 
public schools, not allowed in any public schools, or that it should 
be up to each state or local community to decide?

C. Which of these statements comes closest to your feelings about 
prayers in the public schools? 
The Lord''s prayer or some Bible verse should be read daily. 
There should be a moment for silent prayer or meditation daily. 
No prayer or other religious observances should be held in the public 
schools. 
Other (SPECIFY).

A. Which of these statements comes closest to describing your 
feelings about the Bible?  READ FIRST THREE STATEMENTS [(a)-(c)] 
ONLY. CIRCLE ONLY ONE CODE.
a.         The Bible is the actual word of God and is to be taken 
literally, word for word .....1nb. The Bible is the inspired word of 
God but not everything in it should be taken literally, word for word 
..... .2nc.The Bible is an ancient book of fables, legends, history, 
and moral precepts recorded by men ......3

B. Here are four statements about the Bible, and I'd like you to tell 
me which is closest to your own view. READ FIRST FOUR STATEMENTS 
[(a)-(d)] ONLY. CIRCLE ONLY ONE CODE.
a. The Bible is God's Word and all it says is true......1
b.The Bible was written by men inspired by God, but it contains some 
human errors ......2 
c. The Bible is a good book because it was written by wise men, but 
God had nothing to do with it ......3
d. The Bible was written by men who lived so long ago that it is 
worth very little today......4