Public’s Image of a Pastor

The public’s image of the clergy has hit an all-time low, with just a bare majority now rating them “very high” (15 percent) or “high” (39 percent) in honesty and ethical standards. One person in three (33 percent) considers clergy ethics to be just average, while 7 percent say they are “low,” and 2 percent consider them “very low.”

In spite of this, members of the clergy are charted second only to pharmacists for honesty and ethics. Physicians, college teachers, dentists, and engineers are next in rank, while journalists, bankers, lawyers, members of Congress, and car salesmen are rated near the bottom.

Emerging Trends, Signs of the Times, August, 1993, p. 6