Trust in clergy at record low

Of nearly 1,000 people (aged 15 or older) asked by Ipsos MORI, 65 per cent said they did trust senior priests and vicars to tell the truth.

The figure marks a two per cent year-on-year decline since 2016, and is significantly lower than the 85 per cent recorded in 1983 when the annual poll was first conducted.

Head of political polling at Ipsos MORI, Gideon Skinner said: “Groups such as professors, scientists, the police, trade union officials and civil servants have become more trusted, but the clergy are the most notable losers.

“But not everything changes – doctors, nurses and teachers have consistently been near the top, and politicians and journalists down the bottom.”

The statistics suggest clergy are trusted more than nurses, doctors and police officers – but less than estate agents, journalists and politicians.

Reacting to the figures, Baptist minster Jonathan Edwards told Premier recent scandals within the church may be to blame, explaining: “Clearly, there are many clergy who have slipped up and done things they ought not to have done, and that tends to blacken the reputation of others.

“Statistics like this should always be received by the Church with humility; we’re all failed people and we should be deeply disappointed by these things.”

Similarly, public faith in scientists has never been higher – 83 per cent, compared to 63 per cent in 1997.

In contrast, the trust enjoyed by police officers…