UNITED STATES
The Christian Times
January 8, 2018
By Jardine Malado
A recent Gallup poll has found that less than half of Americans believe that clergy members are honest and have high ethical standards.
The poll, titled “Americans’ Ratings of Honesty and Ethical Standards in Professions,” has revealed that trust in the clergy has declined from a high of 67 percent in 1985 to its lowest rating of 42 percent in 2017.
The number of people who have said that clergy has “very high” or “high” honesty standards have dropped precipitously in 2002 amid the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church. The clergy’s ratings recovered slightly in the next few years, but it fell to 50 percent in 2009, and it has declined steadily since that time.
Clergy have been ranked behind judges (43 percent), day care providers (46 percent), police officers (56 percent), pharmacists (62 percent), medical doctors (65 percent), grade school teachers (66 percent), military officers (71 percent), and nurses (82 percent) as the most honest and ethical profession.
Religious breakdowns of the data provided to Christianity Today indicated that self-identified Christians are almost twice as likely to still have faith in religious leaders. Almost half of 776 Christian respondents said pastors had high ethical standards, but only a quarter of 236 non-Christian respondents agreed.
Non-Christians are more likely to trust grade school teachers, judges and newspaper reporters, while Christians are more likely to trust police officers, auto mechanics and business executives.
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