A Nation Divided: Americans Split on Who Can Address Our Problems
America faces its share of challenges, but its citizens are very divided about which leaders are most capable of starting a healthy discussion on those issues.
Lifeway Research released a report Thursday that shows more Americans put their trust in the president than in the nation's preachers.
The organization surveyed 1,000 Americans before the presidential election, asking them, "In America today, who is in the best position to generate a healthy conversation on challenges facing our society?"
Twenty-three percent said the office of the president is the answer to that question.
Only 11 percent said they would turn to pastors of local churches to start healthy public discussions, followed by 10 percent believing university professors are best suited.
Eight percent would turn to members of the media, followed by business leaders at 7 percent, and members of Congress at 6 percent.
Only one percent of Americans believe professional athletes are in the best place to initiate helpful conversations, followed by musicians at less than one percent.
Thirty-three percent of the Americans polled said they would turn to none of the groups for a discussion on the country's challenges.
Scott McConnell, executive director of LifeWay Research, says the survey points to a divided American society in which few leaders can attract a large audience made up of all kinds of people.
"There's a vacuum of public leadership in America," McConnell said. "We know we have problems and that we should talk about them. But there's no one who can bring us all together."
