STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- 31% of Catholics rate the clergy’s honesty highly, down from 49% in 2017
- 44% of Catholics confident in organized religion; an 8-point drop
- 52% of Catholics say religion is a “very important” part of their lives
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Amid turmoil in the Roman Catholic Church in the ongoing fallout from priest sex abuse scandals, a record-low 31% of U.S. Catholics rate the honesty and ethical standards of the clergy as “very high” or “high.” This marks an 18-percentage-point drop between 2017 and 2018, when more sexual abuse allegations against priests surfaced and questions arose about the Vatican’s response.
U.S. Catholics’ Faith in Clergy Is Shaken
Story Highlights 31% of Catholics rate the clergy’s honesty highly, down from 49% in 2017 44% of Catholics confident in organized religion; an 8-point drop 52% of Catholics say religion is a “very important” part of their lives WASHINGTON, D.C.