New Gallup Survey: U.S. Confidence in Organized Religion at Lowest Point Ever

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A new Gallup Survey indicates that Americans' confidence in organized religion is at the lowest point ever recorded by Gallup.  Frankly, given the toxicity and hypocrisy that flow virtually non-stop from most forms of organized religion in this country (if not the world), this is actually probably a good thing.   Yes, there are some denominations that do a better job at implementing the so-called Golden Rule, but sadly, most seem to have division and passage of judgment on others and often outright hate as their principal characteristics.They claim to preach a message of "love" but their actions speak otherwise.  What's interesting is that while confidence in organized religion has fallen sharply, spirituality has not.  It is also telling that Catholics have far less confidence in organized religion than do Protestants.  Here are some highlights of Gallup's findings:

Forty-four percent of Americans have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in "the church or organized religion" today, just below the low points Gallup has found in recent years, including 45% in 2002 and 46% in 2007. This follows a long-term decline in Americans' confidence in religion since the 1970s.

In 1973, "the church or organized religion" was the most highly rated institution in Gallup's confidence in institutions measure, and it continued to rank first in most years through 1985, outranking the military and the U.S. Supreme Court, among others. That began to change in the mid- to late 1980s as confidence in organized religion first fell below 60%, possibly resulting from scandals during that time involving famed televangelist preachers Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart. Confidence in religion returned to 60% in 2001, only to be rocked the following year by charges of child molestation by Catholic priests and cover-up by some in the church.

Currently, 56% of Protestants express a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in the church/organized religion, compared with 46% of Catholics. This is in line with an average 12-percentage-point difference in the two groups' confidence, according Gallup polling from 2002 through 2012, with Protestants consistently expressing higher confidence.

Two major findings apparent in Gallup's confidence in the church and organized religion trend are, first, the long-term decline in Americans' confidence in this societal institution since 1973, and second, the suppressed confidence among Catholics relative to Protestants starting in 1981, and becoming more pronounced by 2002.