Nursing is seen as the most honest and ethical profession in the U.S., according to a recent Gallup survey, while highly positive views of clergy reached an all-time low.
The survey asked U.S. adults to answer the following question about 22 professions: “Please tell me how you would rate the honesty and ethical standards of people in these different fields – very high, high, average, low or very low?”
Eighty-two percent of respondents rated nurses as “very high / high,” with 16 percent saying “average” and only 2 percent “low / very low.”
“Nurses have surpassed all other professions every year but one since Gallup first asked about them in 1999,” Gallup said. “In 2001, Gallup included firefighters on the list after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and 90 percent of the public rated their honesty and ethical standards as ‘high’ or ‘very high.'”
U.S. clergy ranked ninth at 42 percent rating their honest and ethics as “very high / high,” a 2-point drop from 2016 and “the lowest rating to date” since Gallup began polling clergy perception in 1977. Forty-one percent rated clergy as “average” and 13 percent “low / very low.”
Clergy were rated lower than military officers (71 percent), grade school teachers (66), medical doctors (65), pharmacists (62), police officers (56), day care providers (46) and judges (43).
Lobbyists were the lowest rated profession, with only 8 percent responding with “very high / high” views, while 31 percent said “average” and 58 percent “low / very low.” This is the only profession with single-digit affirmation in the “very high / high” category.
Members of the U.S. Congress received 11 percent “very high / high” affirmation, 1 point above car salespeople.
“While only members of Congress and lobbyists received majority negative ratings, the remaining 14 occupations were rated “average” for their honesty and ethical standards by pluralities or majorities ranging from 39 percent to 54,” Gallup stated.
The full survey is available here.
