Confidence in organized religion continues to decline.
Confidence in organized religion is down from 48 percent in 2013, and well below the high point of 68 percent in 1975. (Image courtesy of suphakit73/FreeDigitalPhotos.net)
According to Gallup's annual survey on public views of U.S. institutions, 45 percent of respondents noted a "great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in organized religion.
This is down from 48 percent in 2013, and well below the high point of 68 percent in 1975.
The percentage of respondents noting "very little" or "no" confidence increased from 19 percent in 2013 to 24 percent in 2014.
While there has not been a decline each year, confidence in organized religion has been on a downward trajectory overall since 1975. The 2014 response is the second lowest, higher than only 2012 (44 percent).
A similar downward trajectory can be seen in several other institutions, including the Supreme Court, public schools, banks, newspapers and television news, to name a few.
Confidence in Congress has seen the most dramatic decline—from a high of 42 percent in 1973 to a low of 7 percent in 2014.
By contrast, the military has been on an upward trajectory overall, moving from a low of 50 percent in 1981 to 76 percent in 2014. 1991 saw the highest confidence marks at 85 percent, followed closely by 2003 and 2009 with 82 percent.
A summary of the 2014 results can be found here, the full report here and a historical overview here.