(CNN) As a clergy sexual abuse scandal throws the Catholic Church into deep crisis on several continents, more than a third of American Catholics say they have questioned whether to remain in the church, according to a new Gallup poll.

The poll, released Wednesday, found that 37% of American Catholics have questioned their church membership as result of the clergy sexual abuse scandal, a leap of 15 percentage points from the church's last major abuse crisis in 2002. That year, the Boston Globe uncovered widespread sexual misconduct by clergy and cover-ups by Catholic leaders, a scandal that soon spread across the country.

This year, trust in the church is somewhat greater among Catholics who attend Mass weekly or monthly, Gallup found.

While nearly half (47%) of self-identified Catholics who seldom or never attend Mass say they have considered leaving the church, less than a quarter of weekly Mass-goers say the same.

The survey, based on interviews with 581 US Catholics who participated in Gallup polls from January 21-27 and February 12-28, comes as Pope Francis and other church leaders are grappling with the widespread scandal.

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