The job approval rating of Bishop of Iceland Karl Sigurbjörnsson has likely reached its lowest level, a Gallup poll indicates.
This bishop has been under pressure lately to resign from his post after an investigation into the church revealed that he had hidden evidence in an internal sexual abuse case that involved a former bishop. The current bishop has apologised on behalf of the church for its poor handling of sex abuse cases, but many have pointed out that the bishop has not apologised specifically or sufficiently for his part, and want him to resign.
A new Gallup poll, RÚV reports, shows that only 19% of respondents are satisfied with the job the bishop is doing. By contrast, last spring 24% were satisfied, and in 2004, 64%.
Demographically, satisfaction with the bishop seems to depend a lot on age: only 9% of those under 30 approve of the bishop’s performance, as compared to 34% of those over 60.
Furthermore, 75% of those who had a position on the separation of church and state support it; if counting all respondents, this figure is still close to 60%. The data also shows that 28% of those registered with the church say they have been considering leaving.
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