Public trust in pastors continues to decline, Gallup poll finds

January 20, 2025

A Gallup poll finds that public trust in clergy has declined significantly with only 30% of the respondents saying they would rate the clergy as “highly honest and ethical.”

The Christian Post reports that the survey, conducted between Dec 2-18, 2024 and released last week, shows clergy ranked 10th out of 23 professions measured.

Gallup, which has tracked the trust of the public in some professions since 1999, said this years findings align with overall shift in which professions have experienced lower ethics and honesty ratings over time.

Pastors ranked beneath auto mechanics (33%) and judges (28%) but above bankers (23%) and nursing home operators (21%).

20% of the respondents ranked the clergy’s honesty and ethics as “low or very low” while some 42% said they see pastors as having average standards.

Lifeway Research commented on the Gallup poll and noted that pastors “still rate among the top half of professions included” yet still trail nurses, grade school teachers, military officers, pharmacists and medical doctors.

As recently as 1985, public trust in pastors was as high as 67% with the average level of trust dropping to around 40% in the early 2000s.

That number has continued to decline over the past 15 years.

Lifeway pointed to “sex abuse reports in other denominations and Christian groups” as one possible influence on the receding trust as well as changing religious habits and declining church attendance.

Lobbyists, members of Congress and TV reporters were near the bottom of the list along with advertising practitioners and car salesmen.

Photo: top, Credit: iStock/Kenneth_Keifer