Marriage is the institution Europeans have the most confidence in, with the church as runner-up, according to the Reader’s Digest Trusted Brands survey conducted among subscribers to the magazine in 18 European countries.
The countries ranged from Belgium to the United Kingdom and included a number of nations in Eastern Europe.
Respondents were asked how much confidence they had in 10 institutions: a great deal, quite a lot, not very much or none at all.
The country with the most confidence in the church was Finland, with 67 percent reporting a great deal or quite a lot of confidence and only 32 percent with not very much or no confidence, while the Czech Republic had the least- 23 and 76 percent.
The United Kingdom was fairly evenly balanced, with 47 percent positive and 51 percent negative. Sweden scored 49 percent on both counts, while Italy was 45 percent positive and 52 percent negative. The European average was 44 percent positive and 53 percent negative.
Overall 80 percent of Europeans had a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in marriage, 71 percent in the police, and 62 percent in the media of television and radio, but only 26 percent in the printed news media.
The highest confidence in marriage was recorded by Poland-82 percent- while the lowest confidence was recorded by Russia with 45 percent. (RNS)
Share with others: