Public confidence in the honesty and ethical standards of pastors in the United States has fallen to its lowest level on record, according to recent analysis from Lifeway Research based on Gallup data.
The findings show that only 27 per cent of US adults currently rate pastors as having “high” or “very high” honesty and ethics. This represents a further decline from 2024 and continues a downward trend that has lasted for more than ten years.
Gallup reported that just 6 per cent of respondents give pastors a “very high” rating, while 21 per cent say their honesty is “high”. By contrast, around half of Americans now describe clergy ethics as average. A further 18 per cent rate pastors as low or very low in honesty, while a small group remain undecided.
This marks a dramatic change from earlier decades. In the mid-1980s, more than two-thirds of Americans viewed clergy as highly trustworthy. Trust briefly rose again in 2001, following the September 11 terrorist attacks, before beginning a long and steady decline.
Despite falling confidence in individual pastors, the survey points to a modest improvement in public views of organised religion as a whole. In 2025, 36 per cent of adults said they had a great deal or a fair amount of confidence in the church, up from its lowest point in 2022. This suggests that while church leaders face growing scrutiny, the institution itself may be regaining some stability in public perception.
The drop in trust is not limited to clergy. The survey found that most professions measured in 2025 experienced declining approval ratings, with the overall average falling to a new low. However, the decline for pastors has been the most severe over the past 20 years, dropping nearly 30 percentage points since the early 2000s.
Researchers note that the erosion of trust accelerated in the early 2000s following widespread reports of sexual abuse and institutional cover-ups within the Roman Catholic Church. In later years, similar allegations involving other Christian groups further damaged public confidence.
The last time a majority of Americans rated clergy as highly ethical was in 2012. Since then, trust levels have fallen almost every year. Pastors are now grouped with professions seen as slightly more trustworthy than average, such as teachers and police officers, but remain well behind the most trusted roles, including nurses and doctors.
The data also reveals sharp differences across demographic groups. White Americans are nearly twice as likely as non-white Americans to express high trust in pastors. Older adults show significantly more confidence than younger generations, with those over 55 far more likely to hold positive views than those under 35.
Higher income and education levels are also linked to increased trust. Politically, Republicans report greater confidence in clergy than Democrats or Independents, highlighting a noticeable partisan divide.
The findings reflect ongoing challenges facing Christian leadership in the United States, as churches seek to rebuild credibility and address long-standing concerns over accountability and transparency.
Adapted from Christian Daily International.
