(RNS) The public’s confidence in organized religion has inched back up after reaching a historic low in 2002, according to a Gallup poll released June 22.

The percentage of Americans who said they had a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in “the church or organized religion” reached 53 percent in May, up from 50 percent last year.

Confidence sank to 45 percent in 2002 – the lowest point since Gallup began polling on the subject in 1973. The drop-off “was probably driven largely by high-profile child sexual abuse scandals that shook the Catholic church,” said Albert Winseman, Gallup’s religion and values editor.