Sixty-one percent of Americans believe that the creation account in the book of Genesis is literally true, as it is written word-for-word. Sixty percent believe in the story of Noah's ark and the global flood, and sixty-four percent think that Moses really did part the Red Sea for his people to escape the Egyptians. Sadly, this information is not decades old, but is from a survey that was conducted in 2004 (1). Another study, published in 2007, reports that one-third of adults in the United States believe the bible should be interpretted literally (2). The study also found little variation among different age groups, stating that 18-29 year olds are just as likely to believe in a literal bible as 30-49 year olds. Perhaps the most telling (though not the least bit surprising) find in the 2007 survey is the strong correlation between church attendance and a literal reading of the bible.

Literalism is not a phantom of days long past, nor is it a minority opinion in America today. Even though strict biblical literalism is contradicted by history, geology, biology, cosmology and many other disciplines, it appears that some people are not receiving the message... or they are simply ignoring it. Of course, it is not uncommon for religious believers to accept something on faith even when all data points in the opposite direction, but a full and literal interpretation of the bible can only be trouble.

I. Culture Wars

God said it, I believe it, that settles it! This atrocious slogan is a fairly popular bumper sticker that is available numerous places online. Only the most brainwashed fundamentalists would want to openly advertise their arrogance and ignorance in such a way, but many people do just that without realizing it. Biblical literalists frequently attack abortion, gay marriage, evolution, and many other issues, all on the basis of how they conflict with their rigid interpretation of 'God's word'. However, in most cases, such subjects of controversy are never directly referenced anywhere in the bible, so believers form their opinions by reading between the lines, deriving biblical interpretations that are no less controversial than the subject(s) at hand.

I have often wondered about the motivations for these literalists. Do they interpret the bible as they do because it's how their parents taught them, do they follow their pastor's interpretation, or is it really a conclusion they've arrived at on their own? Gay marriage, abortion, evolution, and all those other 'hot button' issues are primarily opposed by biblical literalists of one form or another. They are extremely divisive issues and have provoked what Bill O'Reilly and others call the culture wars. When someone's main motivation for vehemently opposing an issue is their own personal interpretation of a 2,000 year old book, they demonstrate severe indoctrination. It seems unlikely that literalism can naturally arise without the influence of other extremists. As the survey illustrated, most literalists are dedicated church goers.

One reason that literalism is dangerous is precisely because it causes culture wars. Thanks to the misinformation campaigns of many creationists, evolution is not well understood by high school students or even by a good amount of the general public. If 61% of Americans believe in a literal 6-day creation, education is not doing its job. We've found trees on our own planet that are far older than the 6,000 year history that creationists give to our universe (3). Several studies have been done on the correlation between religion and education, and many of them have found that the most educated countries also tend to be the least religious. A study in 2007 concluded that:

Perhaps this is because biblical literalists truly believe the slogan I mentioned above. If you honestly think God said it and that's good enough for you, then there is really no point in pursuing things any further, is there? The bible does not require the faithful to understand how God works (it says that they will never understand some of his 'higher' ways), but only to blindly believe that God did the work. Imagine if Copernicus or Galileo had ignored their curiosity, thinking that knowing that God was behind it all was enough. Literalists not only leave it at 'God did it', but they attack any opposing views that might contradict their biblical interpretation, trying to make sure that everyone else is forced to accept their revisions of history and science.

'God did it' is not any kind of a reasonable answer though. It stops progress and throws a country into regress. God was the explanation we came up with in ancient times, for things we could not explain, like natural disasters or the rising of the sun. We have useful, consistent and working explanations for these things now, so there is no longer a need to invoke God. Any attempt to reinsert God back into the equation will disrupt progress and almost certainy raise more problems and questions than it solves. This is where the culture wars get ugly. Biblical literalists want to take America back to first century Palestine. They want our country to acknowledge the bible as a more accurate historical and scientific work than any college textbook, and sadly it seems that a good portion of our citizens already do.

II. How Literalism Breeds Fanatics

Fundamentalists may pound the pulpit arguing that the bible is always to be taken literally, but how many of them are willing to say that those caught in adultery or homosexuality should be killed? Deuteronomy 21:18 instructs the parents of disobedient children to bring them before the town and stone their own offspring to death. How many Christian literalist parents would be comfortable with following God's word in that case? If you are not observing those laws clearly recorded in the bible, yet you claim to interpret the book literally, then you are a hypocrite. However, I should recommend that you not follow those barbaric laws, and maybe re-evaluate your position on biblical literalism altogether, because a word-for-word interpretation of the bible can only mean fanaticism and violence.

These verses and many others inspired literalists of the past to murder dozens of innocent women for 'witchcraft' and to torture and execute heretics, who simply held different religious persuasions. If God said it and you believe it, why aren't you obeying by killing non-believers and sorceresses today? I'd like to think it's because you recognize that such teachings are not moral or practical, but if you do acknowledge that, then you are not a biblical literalist, since you would be admitting that those verses were relative to the time they were written in.

Pro-life advocates love to quote Jeremiah 1:4-5 and other verses which state that God knows us even before he forms us in the womb. Somehow this is supposed to defend the 'sanctity of life', although it only shows that God, who is allegedly omniscient (all-knowing), knows what we will be like before we are born. Nonetheless, if you want to take that verse literally as opposition to abortion, I suggest you observe Exodus 21:22-25 as well. The verses demand death for anyone who even accidentally causes a pregnant woman to lose her child. According to biblical literalism, people like James Charles Kopp are justified in their murder of abortion doctors.

Literalism breeds fanatics because it gets people to accept outdated moral codes as absolute standards relevant for today. It would be no different if a person wanted to practice and observe the Mayan religion as it is literally reported. Mayans engaged in ritualistic human sacrifice, and because it was undoubtedly a part of their religion, one could not be a 'Mayan literalist' without practicing human sacrifice. To Christians, the bible is the authority on their religion, and so one cannot be a biblical literalist unless he/she practices even the controversial rules and laws. Anyone who really strives to interpret the bible as literally as possible is surely on the path to violent fanaticism.

III. Patriotism and Literalism

The virus of literalism has poisoned the minds of Americans so much that many people have asserted that one cannot be a 'true American' unless they are a bible-thumping, conservative Christian. The former United States President George H.W. Bush once told a reporter, "I don�t know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God." Apparently Bush does not know that this has not always been one nation 'under God' (the phrase was added to the pledge in the 1950s), but the American public still seems to agree with his sentiments. From a Gallup poll in 2007, US citizens stated that they would sooner vote for any other minority - even for homosexuals - before they would vote for an atheist president (5). Most Christians will tell you that Jesus teaches love and tolerance, but conservative Christian Americans aren't often the best examples of it.

It is a popular misconception of countless Christians that America is a Christian nation, yet there is nothing but evidence to the contrary [see my article "Is America a Christian Nation?"]. It is just further arrogance on the part of literalists, to attempt to claim their entire country as an extension of their religion. Those who interpret the bible literally will certainly believe their interpretation should be the standard for everyone else, because the bible tells them exactly that. Patriotism according to literalist Christians is very much like their own religious belief, requiring one to have unwavering faith in their country, even in spite of evidence that they might be in the wrong. It's more kin to nationalism, as the faithful believe their leaders are appointed by God to do the work of God (well, only the conservative leaders).

The combination of patriotism and biblical literalism is a powerful force of irrationality in America, opposing anything deemed to be anti-American, which is taken to mean anything non-Christian or non-conservative. It threatens education, freedom, peace, and everything else that actually makes this country great. If we hope to progress well in this 21st century, we need to leave ancient superstition in the past and realize that nationalism is not remotely like the vision our founding fathers had for America. They came to this country to escape religious persecution and they rebelled against a tyrannical homeland that was trying to force them to accept their supremacy. A government founded on one religion, that believed dogmatically in its own supremacy, was just what America's founders fought against.

IV. Moderates and Metaphors

Literalism is not the sole source of problems in religion. Although a moderate interpretation of the bible is not quite as destructive as a literal one, it still faces a few troublesome questions. First and foremost, who decides what is literal and what is metaphorical in the bible? Christians may claim that the Holy Spirit helps them interpret things correctly, but what evidence is there that they're not just going off of their own intuition, or cherry-picking the bible for what they like and don't like? As I already demonstrated, even literalists do that when they ignore the instruction of the nastier bible verses, but without solid criteria to judge what in the bible is literal and what is allegorical, there seems to be little point in even making a distinction, and this can be a big problem for some Christians.

Let's say that the creation story in Genesis is metaphorical. The 6 days, the Garden of Eden, and Adam and Eve are just clever story-telling, not intended to be taken as a literal, historical account of our origins. It seems agreeable to rational people, but moderate Christians might be surprised to find out that this reconciliation does not allow for the idea of salvation. If there were no Adam and Eve or no tree of knowledge for them to eat from, how did sin enter the world? With no concept of sin, salvation is unnecessary, since the bible claims that Christ died on the cross to save us from our sins. Of course, this is not an issue if you don't believe in Christ's divinity, but for those who wish to reconcile the saviorship of Jesus with an allegorical interpretation of Genesis that is not contradicted by science... it's a bit difficult and inconsistent.

Since moderate Christians typically reject the literalism and inerrancy of the bible, it is easy for them to conclude that the bible was just written by fallible men who probably got a few details wrong. But once again, this begs the question: how do you know what they got wrong and what they might've gotten right? Maybe they're wrong about the whole god thing in general. The more that moderates reconcile their faith with history and science, the more nebulous it becomes. When does a person cease to be a Christian, after several core doctrines and beliefs have been abandoned? If the bible is the primary or only source of information that we have on Jesus Christ, how can someone reject a lot of its contents and still claim to be a Christian?

Hopefully you will not misunderstand these objections as an attack on moderate Christianity. They are mainly my own reasons for not becoming a moderate after I deconverted from Christianity. I believe that liberal interpretation of all religious texts should be encouraged, so that we in America do not stagnate in faith, afraid to entertain ideas that might seem to threaten the comfort we feel in our dogmas. Atheists are not the only minority who is portrayed unfairly in the media or who is drowned out by seas of irrationally devout voices - liberal believers and agnostics are often left out of the picture too. I think it is very valuable to focus on our similarities and unite with those who have common goals, so that we can spread the importance of skepticism, science, and the separation of church and state. It may be the best tactic for getting more people to think critically and shed the irrational beliefs of literalism.

1. Anonymous. (2004) Most Americans take Bible stories literally. Retrieved Feb. 4, 2009.
2. Barrick, A. (2007) Poll: 1 of 3 Americans Say Bible Should be Taken Literally. Retrieved Feb. 4, 2009.
3. Highfield, R. (2008) World's oldest tree discovered in Sweden. Retrieved Feb. 4, 2009.
4. Zuckerman, P. (2007) Atheism: Contemporary Rates and Patterns. Retrieved Feb. 4, 2009.
5. NixGuy. (2007) Americans Will Vote For Anyone But An Atheist. Retrieved Feb. 4, 2009.