American evangelicals trust religious leaders and police officers significantly more—and trust journalists significantly less—than the average American.
A new Pew Research Center report found that most Americans see people in various positions of power as empathetic, fair, and good stewards “some” or “most or all of the time.” This goes for religious leaders, police officers, K–12 public school principals, military leaders, local elected officials, journalists, and leaders of technology companies.
However, according to Pew breakouts provided to CT, evangelicals have a distinct confidence in certain kinds of leaders. Unsurprisingly, they have a more positive view of religious leaders; 86 percent of evangelicals say they “care about others or ‘people like me,’” compared to 69 percent of Americans overall.
More evangelicals than any other demographic gave religious leaders high marks for caring about people, providing for the spiritual needs of their communities, and handling their resources responsibly.
A strong majority, 83 percent, say religious leaders provide fair and accurate information, compared to 63 percent in the general population. Those who attend religious services weekly had considerably more favorable views of clergy than Americans who attend less often.
Pew found that evangelicals also held a higher-than-average view of police officers (86% of evangelicals consider them caring vs. 79% of Americans). They’re also more likely to believe information from police (81% of evangelicals vs. 74% of Americans) and military leaders (72% of evangelicals vs. 66% of Americans).
“Trust is not an on-off proposition for Americans.” stated Pew’s Lee Rainie. “They have calibrated and nuanced views about different groups and the way they conduct themselves.”
Read the rest of the story at Christianity Today.
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