According to the General Social Survery, confidence in religious leaders is at an all-time low. Or to put it a different way, used car salesmen and members of Congress need to slide over and make room for us because only 20% of Americans (that’s 1-out-of-5) have a “great deal” of confidence in leaders of religious institutions.
Dr. Mark Chaves, professor of sociology, religion, and divinity at Duke University, doesn’t think this is as bad as it sounds. “This trend looks bad, but it is important (if not very comforting) to recognize that the situation is not unique to religion. Confidence has declined across a range of American institutions. Americans are less confident in the leaders of many kinds of institutions than they were in the 1970s.”
So, they’re not just picking on us, but that’s not much comfort, is it? I was wondering why the American public has lost confidence in religious leaders. Do you suppose it’s because…
- Some of us get caught with our pants down?
- Or, some of us molest children?
- Or, some of us protect those of us who do?
- Or, some of us steal?
- Or, some of us use illegal drugs?
- Or, some of us have two wives?
- Or, some of us are suspected of murder?
The amazing thing is, all I had to do was google each of the categories above and not one, but multiple references to each type of tragic offense came up. No wonder confidence in leaders of religious institutions is down.
What do you think are the causes of this staggering decline in confidence in leaders of religious institutions? Am I too hard on us folk-of-the-cloth, or is something else at work here that has nothing to do with us (although it does seem to me that we as a profession are tainted by every failure)?
ChuckWarnock.com 
I’d say it’s a perfect storm. Lower confidence in general, ministers in scandals, and a general distrust of “organized religion,” are working against trusting us.
I don’t think it means we can’t earn that trust, however. It just takes longer than it used to. And I’m not sure that’s a bad thing. Am I alone in thinking trust earned through consistent character is superior to blind trust because of my title?
Perhaps this is more reason than ever for long-term commitment to one ministry (as opposed to the typical church-hopping . . . but I digress).
I think part of the “blame” if you will, is that media can carry news of some scandal, be it political, religious, etc, quicker and to a broader audience now than in decades past. People hear about things a lot quicker now than they used to, and I believe it bears out in the lower opinions.
And even if it’s because of decision-making, or whatever the reason, the fact that media can move faster means that whatever adverse effects it might have given a particular situation, it has a greater impact.
As for fixing it, I think we can take a page out of a standard missionary’s life and learn to build better and stroner relationships. This alone would start to take us places.
I think that it’s the same as with many other “institutions” in today’s society. People see faith organizations and, by association, their leaders basically using them to get the ends they desire. Political power. Support for third-rail political causes. Bigger membership. Larger budgets. More, more, more, more, more, more, more.
It’s pretty simple. Jesus asked little from his followers and, yet, he asked for everything and showed he was willing to give even more than they. One thing he never asked for was power and prestige outside his realm. And, while our 35th president rightly asked the question that we should ask what we can do for our country and not what our country can do for us, today’s church leadership needs to begin the day–everyday–with the question of what the church can do for a lost, hurting, angry, hungry, scared world. Not what can that world do to advance the cause of the day.
Good comments from everyone, pointing out different aspects of this problem. Yes, Dan, media coverage is more of a factor now because even an unknown pastor can make national headlines when he or she fails. Nephos has a point that lower trust in general, coupled with clergy failures and institutional religion is working against us. Richard’s point is well-taken. Some of our clergy problems are of our own making as we grab for power or prestige. A servant’s heart would go a long way to building trust, and changing our image. Thanks for the good, thoughtful conversation.