Confidence in organized religion dropped 30 points in the year after the September 11 attacks, the lowest in the 62 years the Gallup organization has measured the public pulse. Gallup blames the plunge on the Catholic sex abuse scandal and the declining attitude of Catholics toward their church. Protestants fared better.

The Gallup survey, taken in December 2002, shows 59% of U.S. adult Protestants have "a great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in the church itself, while only 42% of Catholics shared this view.

Ministers' ethics: Public opinion of clergy dropped likewise. In 2001, 64% gave ministers high marks for ethical standards; in 2002, the number dropped to 52%.

Clergy rank seventh in favorable opinion of their ethics, behind nurses (79%), pharmacists (67%), military officers (65%), teachers (64%), medical doctors (63%), and police (59%).

Ministers led bankers, journalists, lawyers, and congressmen. Car salesmen and telemarketers, by the way, were at the bottom of the list.

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