Irrelevant Clergy?

When I was a student at seminary (1977-80) one of our professors commented in a lecture about his dismay at a recent poll which indicated that public trust in clergy was waning. A fine man, he was obviously rattled by the growing public perception that men and women of the cloth were lacking in integrity and no longer relevant in our society. As clergy in training we weren't thrilled by this report, but we may have felt that we had the opportunity to prove people wrong. 

Over the years I found that some folk in society had ridiculous expectations of what I might do on their behalf, and the less involved in church life they were, the crazier it got. One bride ended a phone call in anger because I wasn't interested in conducting her wedding in a hot air balloon. On the other hand, there have been times when I have been given a unique public voice on social issues because I was clergy. The rather public discussion of the use of revenues from the new casino in this community was an example. I became a very public figure because I challenged Belleville Council to designate funds to agencies which addressed gambling addiction and I spoke at a city council meeting. Sometimes my harshest critics were those who didn't want me to be in the public eye on issues such as support for the LGBTQ2 community. And as the years went by I felt that a nasty few were emboldened to show little respect for my role or office, let alone me as a brother in Christ. 

A recent Religion News Service points out that the decline in trust has continued, even in the United States where religion appeared to have a stronger base than here in Canada

A NORC/AP poll of 1,137 adults released this month shows that doctors, teachers, members of the military — even scientists — are viewed more positively than clergy. The less frequently people attend church, the more negative their views. Among those who attend less than once a month, only 42% said they had a positive view of clergy members — a rate comparable to that of lawyers, who rank near the bottom of the list of professions.

While frequent church attenders still hold clergy in high regard — about 75% viewed them positively — they give them only passing grades on a number of personal attributes. Only 52% of monthly churchgoers consider clergy trustworthy (that number drops to 23%  among those who attend less than once a month) and 57% said they were honest and intelligent (compared with 27% and 30% among infrequent attenders).

“If you buy into the religious worldview, then the religious leader looks completely different than if you don’t buy into the religious worldview,” said Scott Thumma, professor of the sociology of religion at Hartford Seminary. “The perception from the outside is pretty bleak.The survey confirms previous studies. A 2018 Gallup survey of the public’s views of the honesty and ethical standards of a variety of occupations found that only 37% of Americans viewed clergy “very highly” (with 43% having an “average” view of clergy). It was the lowest Gallup recorded since it began examining occupations in 1977.

Hmm. They began these polls around the time I went to seminary! God knows that the scandals regarding clergy sexual abuse, the rise of shady televangelists and prosperity preachers, and the failure of the Religious Right to uphold a gospel of campassion and inclusion have all contributed to this. What a reminder for those who remain as ministers and pastors and priests to live and act as faithful followers of Christ and leaders within Christ's body, which is the church. We always do so as people with foibles and failings, and by the grace of God.