CV NEWS FEED // Americans in 2023 view most professions as having low honesty and ethical standards, bringing trust ratings of these professions — including the clergy — to an “all-time low,” according to a recent Gallup poll.
The question posed to those taking the poll was: “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?”
In response to the question, “Americans’ ratings of nearly all 23 professions measured in Gallup’s 2023 Honesty and Ethics poll are lower than they have been in recent years,” Gallup reported on January 23. “Only one profession — labor union leaders — has not declined since 2019, yet a relatively low 25% rate their honesty and ethics as ‘very high’ or ‘high.’”
Among those considered least ethical and honest are, according to Gallup, “members of Congress, senators, car salespeople and advertising practitioners… with ratings in the single digits that have worsened or remained flat.”
Conversely, 78% rated the nursing profession as having “very high” honesty and ethical standards.
Gallup reported that the 2023 ratings for journalists and clergy are at “new lows.” In 2023, 19% of Americans viewed journalists as having “very high” honesty and ethical standards. A slightly higher 32% viewed clergymen as having high honesty and ethical standards.
“The honesty and ethics ratings of the [listed careers] have declined by an average of six points since 2019,” Gallup reported. “Twelve of the 13 professions tested in both 2022 and 2023 show at least slightly lower ratings in the past year, except for labor union leaders.”
“In addition to nurses and veterinarians, four other occupations have majority-level positive ratings — engineers, dentists, medical doctors and pharmacists,” Gallup noted.
The Gallup report concluded that the ratings of the different professions improved in 2020 during the pandemic, and have since declined “to all-time lows.”
“Almost all professions are now viewed less positively than they were a year ago and four years ago,” Gallup reported. “A select few — led by nurses for the 22nd consecutive year — maintain overall positive ratings.”
