PUBLIC trust in the clergy has fallen sharply, and less than 60 per cent of British people believe priests to be trustworthy, a new poll suggests.

Fifty-nine per cent of the 2002 people polled said that they could trust members of the clergy; but the younger the respondents were, the more negative a view they had of priests and the Church. Only 29 per cent of 18-to-24-year-olds thought that the clergy could be trusted.

The survey, conducted by Opinium Research in June, was carried out to test the public standing of the police, but other professions were compared beside the police. The clergy were ranked as less trustworthy than nurses, doctors, police, judges, and teachers, but were above accountants, journalists, and politicians.

An Ipsos MORI survey earlier this year showed a decline in trust for the clergy. Respondents were asked whether they would trust clergy to tell the truth: in 1983, 85 per cent of people said yes; but, in 2015, the figure was 71 per cent.

http://ourinsight.opinium.co.uk/survey-results/brits-untrusting-police