Raw greed and flight from ethics in virtually all sectors of society have brought our nation and the world to the precipice of collapse. Yet even rapacious and irresponsible secular figures enjoy more trust in society than religious figures!
This is something very serious to reflect upon when trying to imagine from what wellspring America and the world can "get back on track," and turn current crises around.
And faith leaders' stumble from grace has been faster and steeper than that of leaders in government, education, banking and other walks of life, according to Duke University religion and sociology Prof. Mark Chaves.
"The American public has lost confidence in leaders of all sorts, but the loss of confidence in religious leaders has been more precipitous," Chaves said.
His research, detailed in "American Religion: Contemporary Trends," indicates that the number of people with great confidence in religious leaders declined to less than 25 percent in 2008 from 35 percent in 1973.
Among people who still regularly attend church there is still high regard for their leaders.
1 comment:
Interesting. But can confidence in the virtue of any one (living, breathing, that is) leader actually translate or transmute into some kind of general or widespread confidence in virtue itself?
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