GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- Two-thirds of Americans have a high degree of confidence in the military, and about six in 10 have a high degree of confidence in organized religion and the police, according to Gallup's annual confidence in institutions survey, putting these three institutions at the top of the list of 16 institutions tested. At the same time, less than a third of Americans have a high degree of confidence in electric power utilities, big business, Congress, organized labor and HMOs. There have been few significant changes in these levels of confidence over the past year, but Americans generally have less confidence in many institutions now than they did in the 1970s when Gallup first began testing them. The major exception is the military, which has gained in confidence over the past 30 years so that it is now the single institution tested in which the American public has the most confidence.
Gallup began measuring the American public's confidence in institutions using the current scale in the 1970s. Respondents are asked the following question: "Now I am going to read you a list of institutions in American society. Please tell me how much confidence you, yourself, have in each one -- a great deal, quite a lot, some, or very little?" (Respondents are allowed to volunteer "none.")
The institutions tested have varied from year to year, but in most years the poll has included measurement of such basic institutions in American society as organized religion, the military, Congress, the Supreme Court, public schools, organized labor, the police and big business. Two representatives of the Fourth Estate, newspapers and television news, have been included in more recent years, as well as several specific business entities such as banks, the medical system, electric utilities and health maintenance organizations. The presidency was added to the list in the early 1990s.
Here are the basic results from this year's survey, conducted June 8-10, 2001, with comparisons to the 2000 results, and to the average of the results from the 1970s for selected institutions:
|
Confidence in Institutions % Great Deal or Quite a Lot
|
|||
|
June 2001 |
June 2000 |
1970s |
|
|
% |
% |
% |
|
|
The military |
66 |
64 |
56 |
|
The church or organized religion |
60 |
56 |
66 |
|
The police |
57 |
54 |
|
|
The U.S. Supreme Court |
50 |
47 |
46 |
|
The presidency |
48 |
42 |
|
|
Banks |
44 |
46 |
|
|
The medical system |
40 |
40 |
|
|
The public schools |
38 |
37 |
55 |
|
Faith-based charitable organizations |
37 |
||
|
Newspapers |
36 |
37 |
|
|
Television news |
34 |
36 |
|
|
The electric power utilities |
28 |
||
|
Big business |
28 |
29 |
31 |
|
Organized labor |
26 |
25 |
36 |
|
Congress |
26 |
24 |
39 |
|
Health maintenance organizations, HMOs |
15 |
16 |
|
Only three of the institutions tested -- the military, organized religion, and the police -- are given high confidence ratings (defined as the percentage saying they have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence) by over half of the American public. Two -- the U.S. Supreme Court and the presidency -- generate high confidence ratings from about half of Americans. The rest range below that level, with the bottom position taken by health maintenance organizations, in which only 15% of the American public have confidence.
- Of the three branches of government, Congress gets significantly lower ratings than either the presidency or the U.S. Supreme Court.
- Two institutions tested for the first time this year do not get exceptional confidence ratings. Electric power utilities, much in the news as a result of the energy problems in California, generate high confidence from just 28% of Americans, while faith-based charitable organizations get high confidence ratings from only 37% of Americans.
There has been very little change in these ratings from last year. The biggest difference is in terms of the American public's rating of the presidency, which is up 6 percentage points (due primarily to a major upward shift from Republicans, as will be discussed below). From a longer-term perspective, the confidence ratings of most of the institutions tested continuously since the 1970s have dropped, particularly the public schools (down 17% from the average rating in the 1970s), Congress (down 13%) and organized labor (down 10%).
The only two institutions that engender more confidence today than they did in the 1970s are the military, up 10 percentage points, and the U.S. Supreme Court, up 4 percentage points.
The most noteworthy shift in the rank order of the institutions over time has been the switch in places between the military and organized religion that took place in the 1980s. Religion, which used to be number one on the list, fell, while the military moved up to number one, where it has been since.
Differences Between Republicans and Democrats
Not all Americans have the same degree of confidence in these institutions, of course. One of the most important dividing points within the American population has to do with political orientation. At this juncture in history, Americans who identify themselves as Democrats generally have lower levels of confidence in most of the institutions tested in the poll than do Republicans.
| Confidence in Institutions |
 |
It is not surprising to find that Republicans are much more likely than Democrats to say they have confidence in the presidency, given that a Republican occupies the White House. Republicans also have more confidence in Congress -- perhaps because until recently the Republicans controlled both houses -- and more confidence in the U.S. Supreme Court. (Gallup analysis indicates that there was a dramatic shift in approval of the Supreme Court after December 2000. Democrats, who had been more positive than Republicans about the Court, suddenly became less positive, and Republicans became more positive.)
The only institutions in which the Republicans have less confidence than the Democrats are the public schools, newspapers and television news.
The two partisan groups are very close in terms of their confidence in organized labor, HMOs, and Congress.
Here is an analysis that compares the confidence ratings given each institution last year and this year by Republicans and Democrats:
|
Confidence in Institutions % Great Deal or Quite a Lot
|
||||||
|
Repub- |
Repub- |
Differ- |
Demo- |
Demo- |
Differ- |
|
|
The military |
66 |
75 |
9 |
61 |
61 |
0 |
|
The church or organized religion |
58 |
68 |
10 |
56 |
53 |
-3 |
|
The police |
59 |
65 |
6 |
49 |
53 |
4 |
|
The U.S. Supreme Court |
48 |
60 |
12 |
48 |
44 |
-4 |
|
The presidency |
31 |
73 |
42 |
54 |
27 |
-27 |
|
Banks |
47 |
47 |
0 |
44 |
42 |
-2 |
|
The medical system |
41 |
43 |
2 |
38 |
38 |
0 |
|
The public schools |
33 |
34 |
1 |
41 |
43 |
2 |
|
Faith-based charitable organizations |
46 |
33 |
||||
|
Newspapers |
35 |
31 |
-4 |
40 |
41 |
1 |
|
Television news |
30 |
32 |
2 |
37 |
37 |
0 |
|
The electric power utilities |
32 |
24 |
||||
|
Big business |
36 |
38 |
2 |
24 |
20 |
-4 |
|
Organized labor |
18 |
24 |
6 |
32 |
20 |
-12 |
|
Congress |
25 |
30 |
5 |
24 |
26 |
2 |
|
Health maintenance organizations, HMOs |
15 |
17 |
2 |
18 |
14 |
-4 |
As can be seen, Republicans have increased in their confidence in several institutions since last year, including, in addition to the presidency, the U.S. Supreme Court, the church, the military, the police and organized labor. At the same time, the confidence levels Democrats express in most institutions have remained roughly constant from last year to this year. The primary exceptions are the presidency (Democrats' high confidence ratings have fallen by 27 percentage points) and organized labor (down 12 percentage points among Democrats).
Survey Methods
These results are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,011 adults, 18 years and older, conducted June 8-10, 2001. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95 percent confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is plus or minus 3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.
Now I am going to read you a list of institutions in American society. Please tell me how much confidence you, yourself, have in each one -- a great deal, quite a lot, some, or very little? First, ... Next, [RANDOM ORDER].
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Great deal/ Quite |
|
|
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
||
|
The military |
32 |
34 |
24 |
6 |
2 |
2 |
66 |
|
|
The church or organized religion |
32 |
28 |
24 |
13 |
2 |
1 |
60 |
|
|
The police |
26 |
31 |
31 |
11 |
1 |
* |
57 |
|
|
The U.S. Supreme Court |
22 |
28 |
31 |
13 |
3 |
3 |
50 |
|
|
The presidency |
23 |
25 |
33 |
15 |
2 |
2 |
48 |
|
|
Banks |
17 |
27 |
41 |
13 |
1 |
1 |
44 |
|
|
The medical system |
15 |
25 |
38 |
19 |
2 |
1 |
40 |
|
|
The public schools |
16 |
22 |
37 |
22 |
2 |
1 |
38 |
|
|
Faith-based charitable organizations |
16 |
21 |
40 |
16 |
3 |
4 |
37 |
|
|
Newspapers |
13 |
23 |
44 |
16 |
3 |
1 |
36 |
|
|
Television news |
14 |
20 |
43 |
19 |
3 |
1 |
34 |
|
|
The electric power utilities |
12 |
16 |
44 |
24 |
3 |
1 |
28 |
|
|
Big business |
10 |
18 |
44 |
23 |
3 |
2 |
28 |
|
|
Organized labor |
12 |
14 |
43 |
23 |
3 |
5 |
26 |
|
|
Congress |
10 |
16 |
49 |
20 |
2 |
3 |
26 |
|
|
Health maintenance organizations, HMOs |
7 |
8 |
34 |
40 |
7 |
4 |
15 |
|
(vol.) Volunteered response
* Less than 0.5%
CONFIDENCE IN INSTITUTIONS -- FULL TREND
(COMBINES "GREAT DEAL" AND "QUITE A LOT")
|
A. |
B. |
C. |
D. |
E. |
F. |
G. |
H. |
I. |
J. |
K. |
L. |
M. |
N. |
O. |
P. |
Q. |
|
|
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
|
|
2001 Jun |
60 |
66 |
50 |
44 |
38 |
36 |
26 |
34 |
26 |
48 |
57 |
40 |
-- |
28 |
15 |
28 |
37 |
|
2000 Jun |
56 |
64 |
47 |
46 |
37 |
37 |
24 |
36 |
25 |
42 |
54 |
40 |
24 |
29 |
16 |
-- |
-- |
|
1999 Jun |
58 |
68 |
49 |
43 |
36 |
33 |
26 |
34 |
28 |
49 |
57 |
40 |
23 |
30 |
17 |
-- |
-- |
|
1998 Jun |
59 |
64 |
50 |
40 |
37 |
33 |
28 |
34 |
26 |
53 |
58 |
40 |
24 |
30 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
1997 Jul |
56 |
60 |
50 |
41 |
40 |
35 |
22 |
34 |
23 |
49 |
59 |
38 |
19 |
28 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
1996 May |
57 |
66 |
45 |
44 |
38 |
32 |
20 |
36 |
25 |
39 |
60 |
42 |
19 |
24 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
1995 Apr |
57 |
64 |
44 |
43 |
40 |
30 |
21 |
33 |
26 |
45 |
58 |
41 |
20 |
21 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
1994 Mar |
54 |
64 |
42 |
35 |
34 |
29 |
18 |
35 |
26 |
38 |
54 |
36 |
15 |
26 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
1993 Mar |
53 |
68 |
44 |
37 |
39 |
31 |
18 |
46 |
26 |
43 |
52 |
34 |
17 |
22 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
1991 Oct |
56 |
69 |
39 |
30 |
35 |
32 |
18 |
-- |
22 |
50 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
22 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
1991 Mar |
59 |
85 |
48 |
32 |
44 |
32 |
30 |
-- |
25 |
72 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
26 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
1990 |
56 |
68 |
47 |
36 |
45 |
39 |
24 |
-- |
27 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
25 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
1989 |
52 |
63 |
46 |
42 |
43 |
-- |
32 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
1988 |
59 |
68 |
56 |
49 |
49 |
36 |
35 |
-- |
26 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
25 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
1987 |
61 |
61 |
52 |
51 |
50 |
31 |
-- |
-- |
26 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
1986 |
57 |
63 |
54 |
49 |
49 |
37 |
41 |
-- |
29 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
28 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
1985 |
66 |
61 |
56 |
51 |
48 |
35 |
39 |
-- |
28 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
31 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
1984 |
64 |
58 |
51 |
51 |
47 |
34 |
29 |
-- |
30 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
29 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
1983 |
62 |
53 |
42 |
51 |
39 |
38 |
28 |
-- |
26 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
28 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
1981 |
64 |
50 |
46 |
46 |
42 |
35 |
29 |
-- |
28 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
20 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
1979 |
65 |
54 |
45 |
60 |
53 |
51 |
34 |
-- |
36 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
32 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
1977 |
64 |
57 |
46 |
-- |
54 |
-- |
40 |
-- |
39 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
33 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
1975 |
68 |
58 |
49 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
40 |
-- |
38 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
34 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
1973 |
66 |
-- |
44 |
-- |
58 |
39 |
42 |
-- |
30 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
26 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
KEY: |
|||||
|
A. |
The church or organized religion |
G. |
Congress |
M. |
The criminal justice system |
|
B. |
The military |
H. |
Television news |
N. |
Big business |
|
C. |
The U.S. Supreme Court |
I. |
Organized labor |
O. |
Health maintenance organizations (HMOs) |
|
D. |
Banks |
J. |
The presidency |
P. |
The electric power utilities |
|
E. |
The public schools |
K. |
The police |
Q. |
Faith-based charitable organizations |
|
F. |
Newspapers |
L. |
The medical system |
||
