The Church is only the 17<sup>th most trusted public institution in the UK according to a new survey.
A total of 24 different institutions were ranked by how much they are trusted by the public.
Coming in at the top of the list were The NHS and the Armed Forces. Charities have now risen to third in the rankings compiled by nfpSynergy.
Political parties, multinational companies and newspapers comprise the least trusted three.
Looking further into the data, the Church has 'a great deal' of trust from nine per cent of the public, while 24 per cent of those answering said they had 'quite a lot' of trust – meaning that a third of the public seen the Church as either very or quite trustworthy.
Nearly three in ten, 28 per cent say they have 'not much' trust in the Church while 30 per cent say they have 'very little'.
The level of trust seems to have been consistent over the last few years. In 2009 the combined total of people who said they had a great deal or quite a lot of trust in the Church was 33 per cent and that figure is exactly the same in the latest figures.
1,000 adults were asked to answer the question, 'Please indicate how much trust you have in each of the bodies' in February this year.
