Do not trust a pastor

Church leaders cannot assume that people will trust their words as being truthful and trustworthy.

A survey which has been running since 1983 by respected pollster IPSOS which measures trust in professionals makes sobering reading for pastors.

This year’s top six most trusted professions are nurses, engineers, doctors, scientists, teachers and museum curators. 

The five least-trusted professions are politicians, advertising executives, government ministers, estate agents and journalists. 

In between the most and least trustworthy sits the clergy – church leaders. Only about 55 per cent of people trust them to “tell the truth”. Half the people don’t trust us.

The findings must be a ‘wake up’ call to our churches. 

Perhaps we could slightly ameliorate our pain by saying how a few corrupt and abusive priests and pastors reported widely in the media distorts the picture and that generally less people encounter Christian leaders, so perhaps they don’t have the experience to make a valid judgement. 

However, considering that truthfulness, more than competence or expertise is supposed to be a defining characteristic of Christians this makes for disappointing reading. The reputation of church leaders has significantly declined over the last 40 years, and even more so more recently, dropping by 3 per cent in the last 12 months.

It might well be part of a wider mistrust of authority figures, but it especially marks a growing hostility to the church and the questioning of the integrity and morality of Christians. 

This has implications for us as we reach out, that we will need to build relationships that by God’s grace our integrity and love can be seen.