The clergy themselves are to blame
Many times on this blog I have wondered, “Why isn’t membership in the Catholic church down to zero by now?” Are its faithful members just not paying attention? Their church has paid more than four billion dollars in legal settlements for lawsuits involving clergy rape and abuse of children. Can we imagine any greater scandal? However, churches are not empty because Catholic theology promises eternal life, hence even alarming scandals can be dismissed or ignored. Moreover, its clergy have mastered show business. Their churches are magnificent, the rituals and ceremonies are impressive, and the budgets for clergy costumes must be especially excessive. Such razzle-dazzle keeps the congregants in awe: they show up to get their beliefs, their confidence in eternal life, boosted. Years ago I knew a devout Catholic woman who held on to their faith with fierce determination because she wants to see her mother again in heaven.
It would appear that all the razzle-dazzle is working. That is, the devout never confront their clergy with this simple request: please show us where we can find reliable, verifiable, objective evidence that—if we follow all the rituals, if we hold to the beliefs that you require—we’ll make it to heaven; that there is, in fact, eternal life. The promise of living forever has been the gimmick of so many religions in human history. And today the rituals and costumes fool some of the people all of the time—or fool all of the people some of the time. How have religions been able to get away with it?
But even as the faithful are wowed by the razzle-dazzle, are they always convinced that the clergy are truly ethical, holy people? It would seem that respect for clergy is in major decline. In an article published 19 February 2026, by Hemant Mehta (The Friendly Atheist), titled, Trust in clergy members hits record low, Gallup finds, he cites the data:
“In 1985, 67% of Americans felt clergy members were ethical and honest. In 2001, shortly after 9/11, that number was still as high as 64%. It’s basically been downhill ever since, and a recent Gallup poll revealed that only 27% of Americans now feel clergy members are trustworthy, a record low for a survey that’s been administered for fifty years.”
Mehta notes that other professions have taken hits as well, e.g., politicians, police, pharmacists, but is correct with this statement: “The clergy number has to sting. Those other professions aren’t founded on the idea that the people in them are moral leaders.”
In his conclusion, Mehta goes to the heart of the matter:
“There’s no shortage of news articles about Pastors Behaving Badly, and so many of the ones who’ve avoided scandal still hold beliefs that are untrue, harmful, and bigoted. The biggest denominations in America, Southern Baptists and Catholics, have failed to adequately deal with their sexual problems. The ever-powerful white evangelical bloc continues to carry water for the most corrupt president in history while fully ignoring his dictatorial fantasies, blissful ignorance, and criminal charges.”
The most corrupt president in history. Christian Nationalists doesn’t seem to care that Trump is a despicable person, as long as he supports their goals. That Franklin Graham is on the Trump bandwagon is especially disgusting, but, of course, he’s not alone. For an in-depth explanation of what’s going on, check out John Loftus’ presentation (75 slides): Christian Nationalism—The Danger That It Poses to Our Democracy published on this blog 18 February. This must rank as one of the great threats to our way of life, indeed to our planet. To the faithful who want our country to be a nation that follows Jesus, Christian Nationalism doesn’t seem like a threat at all: separation of church and state is not a major concern.
But churchgoers should be totally alarmed about clergy who rape children. About a week before Hemant Mehta’s article, another story appeared on social media, “Utterly evil”: Louisiana pastor sentenced to seven years’ prison for molesting teen girl. (The Guardian, 12 February 2026)
“The Louisiana Pentecostal pastor who repeatedly molested a teenage girl told her that her ‘world would turn upside down’ if she ever reported his crimes, she said in a statement on Wednesday in a suburban New Orleans court. Milton Otto Martin III would blame her for his crimes, saying he couldn’t resist the temptation that she presented, the survivor’s statement added. Now 30, and having seen him found guild in December of indecent behavior with a juvenile, the survivor whom Martin preyed on in the south-eastern Louisiana community of Chalmette pleaded with the judge presiding over the disgraced pastor’s case to hand him the stiffest punishment possible.”
Later in The Guardian article, we see what’s been happening on the Catholic side of the fence:
“The prosecution of Martin is separate from a decades-old clergy molestation scandal that drove the Roman Catholic archdiocese of nearby New Orleans into federal bankruptcy court in 2020, and in December produced a $305m settlement agreement for hundreds of abuse survivors involved in the proceeding.”
“Louisiana state police detective Scott Rodrigue investigated Martin after also building a case against the retired New Orleans Catholic priest Lawrence Hecker, a serial child molester whose church superiors provided him safe harbor from law enforcement for decades.”
Church superiors provided him safe harbor from law enforcement. How in the world does the Catholic church survive when these cover-ups become known? The bureaucracy is dedicated to keeping the church’s holy reputation intact. I recall thinking, when Pope Francis was elected, “Here’s a chance for this new leader to make a difference.” That is, he should hold a weekly news conference to announce steps taken to put a stop to clergy abuse of children, e.g. these guilty priests have been identified and handed over to the police; stringent selection processes have been put into place to screen out candidates for the priesthood who might be sexual predators; intense training programs have been instituted to make it clear that abuse of children will not be tolerated.”
But, of course, this practice was never adopted. It would dilute the razzle-dazzle; it would distract from the church’s boasting about holding the key to eternal life. The show must go on! All the spectacular church settings; the impressive, awesome ceremonies; the ridiculously excessive costumes. All to enforce the claim that the holy bureaucracy and clergy are to be held in awe…that its priests cannot be sexual deviants.
In his conclusion, Hemant Mehta summed up the situation pretty well:
“Moral authority doesn’t suddenly disappear overnight. It erodes through complicity, and that’s what so many pastors have offered. They actively participate in the destruction of their own profession or stand silently while others do it around them, because they fear it might cost them congregants, donations, or access. Trust can’t be demanded. It has to be earned. And for millions of Americans, clergy members have made it abundantly clear that they are not interested in earning that kind of respect.”
David Madison was a pastor in the Methodist Church for nine years, and has a PhD in Biblical Studies from Boston University. He is the author of Ten Tough Problems in Christian Thought and Belief: a Minister-Turned-Atheist Shows Why You Should Ditch the Faith, now being reissued in several volumes:
· Guessing About God (2023)
· Ten Things Christians Wish Jesus Hadn’t Taught: And Other Reasons to Question His Words (2021). The Spanish translation of this book is also available.
· Everything You Need to Know About Prayer But May Not Want to Admit (2025)
His YouTube channel is here. At the invitation of John Loftus, he has written for the Debunking Christianity Blog since 2016.
The Cure-for-Christianity Library©, now with more than 500 titles, is here. A brief video explanation of the Library is here.
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