Politics and Church: Byproduct or Central Mission?

One of the more intriguing paradoxes that has developed in mainline Protestantism over the last 30 years is that mainline clergy have become more politically active. Since the public politicking of mainline clergy in the late 1960s generated storms in the churches, why would clergy become more politically active over time? In this article, we adopt the theoretical structure of a benefit exchange between leaders and members initiated by Mancur Olson. We seek to determine the extent to which church members' appetites for political action by the clergy are shaped by a satiating selective benefit exchange or are driven largely by political compatibility. We propose that because of continued political disagreement between clergy and church members and considerable disapproval of clergy involvement in politics by church members, clergy politicking is allowed largely by the satisfaction of a selective benefit exchange.     

Predictors of university students’ willingness in the USA to use clergy as sources of skilled help

This exploratory study investigated U.S. university students’ perceptions (N = 186) and the predictor variables associated with their willingness to use clergy as a source of help. In the final regression analysis using the predicted variable of willingness to use clergy as a source of help (R = 0.816, R ²= 0.665, Adjusted R ²= 0.650), there were seven significant predictor variables: (a) trust of clergy, (b) empathic ability of clergy, (c) having previously sought help from clergy, (d) respondents’ dominant/minority cultural identification, (e) attendance at religious services at least once a year, (f) believing that spiritual counselling is as effective as psychotherapy, and (g) receiving religious/spiritual education as a child. An eighth variable was retained in the final regression model because of its proximity to significance (Friendships between clergy and people, p = 0.051). Accusations against clergy and the belief that clergy are held to a higher standard did not predict willingness to use clergy as a source of help. A general linear model (F = 125.696, df = 10, p < 0.001) revealed that those who self-identified with Protestant Christianity, Catholic/Orthodox Christianity, and Judaism were more likely to consider seeking help from clergy than those who self-identified with another religious tradition (Hinduism, Islam, or Buddhism), or adherence to spiritual not religious belief. Further, those who self-identified as Jewish or Christian were also more like to perceive clergy as trustworthy and empathic. Finally, African American/Caribbean Black respondents were more likely than either Latino/Latino American respondents or European American respondents to seek help from clergy, to perceive clergy as empathic, and to believe that spiritual counselling is as effective as psychotherapy (F = 1495, df = 12, p < 0.001).     

Relocation and Well-Being in United Methodist Clergy and Their Spouses: What Pastoral Counselors Need to Know

The well-being of relocated, male Florida Annual Conference United Methodist clergy and clergy spouses (N = 124) was compared with that of nonrelocated male United Methodist clergy and clergy spouses (N = 153). Results revealed no significant differences in well-being between relocators and nonrelocators. Clergy spouses exhibited significantly lower well-being than did clergy. Perceptions of relocation, stress level, and coping resources were significant predictors of clergy well-being. However, only stress level and coping resources predicted spouse well-being. Qualitative analysis of participants' responses revealed that pastoral counselors should address issues such as grief, powerlessness, loneliness, and clergy family reluctance to seek counseling services.     

Three Models of Clergy Systems: Analysis of Couple Processes and Spiritual Meaning

This study explores how parts of the clergy system interact in response to congregational and familial demands. Qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews with twenty-four clergy and their spouses identified three clergy system models based on the spiritual meaning and relational dynamics between the clergy, their spouses, and the congregations: The living sacrifice model emphasizes service to the congregation at the expense of personal and familial needs; the faithful spouse and parent model focuses on family needs over the congregation and practices several disciplines to maintain such a focus; and the peacemaker model seeks as much as possible to satisfy their congregation and their family by intentionally juggling their demands. Results illustrate how relational processes and spiritual meaning contribute to how clergy systems respond to systemic demands and pressures.     

Intra‐Organizational Constraints on Churches' Public Witness

We examine the effects of some oft‐overlooked influences on clergy public speech, an important component of a church's public witness. While there are many studies of denominational conflict, few studies connect denominational‐level conflict with the ways in which clergy address salient public issues to their congregations. We also explore the impact that the presence of a congregant who has struggled with his or her sexuality, that is, the contact hypothesis, has on clergy speech. We test these ideas using 2004 survey data from clergy in Columbus, Ohio concerning their speech on the state's constitutional ban on gay marriage. We find that these intra‐organizational constraints shape opinions that in turn affect speech, tempering indirectly the ability of clergy to present concerns about the proposed ban.     

Nigerian Clergy and healthcare professionals’ perceptions of health-seeking behaviours among Nigerian immigrants in the UK

The diversity in patient populations due to immigration in the UK has implications for adequate understanding of a patients’ culture by the clinician as well as patient–clinician cultural matching for enhanced service use and outcome. This qualitative study investigated how Nigerian clergy and health professionals perceived health-seeking behaviours among Nigerians in the UK, while considering the impact of their own beliefs and values as care providers. Six participants were interviewed (clergy, n?=?2; health professionals, n?=?4). Data were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Results showed that the clergy and health professionals themselves use religious/cultural cure and formal healthcare methods, and believed Nigerian immigrants as predominantly using religious/cultural methods which can affect healthcare utilisation, although differences between the professionals were reported. The potentials for integrating other cure methods into the formal healthcare services were considered, while highlighting the challenges that may arise from such collaborative effort.     

Referral by clergy who counsel older adults

The purpose of this cross sectional study of clergy (N?=?493) was to examine the likelihood of referral to formal mental health providers by those clergy who counsel older adults. Responding clergy completed a brief questionnaire that included information on the amount of counselling they do with older adults, the Attitudes towards Older Adults and Mental Illness (AOAMI) scale, their relationships with mental health professionals, their knowledge of resources for referring people for additional help, and basic demographic data, such as race, age, years in the clergy, and education level. In logistic regression analysis, respondents with more education, those who felt less prepared to provide counselling, and those with more positive attitudes based on the AOAMI indicated that they were more likely to refer, and no differences were found based on their denominational affiliation race, relationships with mental health professionals, or knowledge of resources for referring people for additional help. We believe that public-private partnerships should be formed to help clergy recognise when referrals are appropriate, and to help improve relationships between clergy and mental health professionals.     

Pierre De Bérulle (1575–1629) and the renewal of Catholic spiritual life in France

Pierre de Bérulle, founder of the Oratoire de Jésus (commonly known as the Oratoire de France), is a leading figure in the renewal of the Catholic Church in France in the first half of the seventeenth century. He is generally regarded as the founder of the French School of Spirituality (École française de spiritualité), though this term has been much criticised in recent years. He is often described as a ‘reformer’ of the Church in France, but this is a half-truth which obscures his real originality; he certainly shared the aims of those striving to create a clergy which would be better educated, more morally upright and more pastorally sensitive and zealous; but above all else he was concerned with the spiritual renewal of the clergy and with the Church in France generally. Lastly, he has often been accused of wishing to create chiefly, if not exclusively, a spirituality of the priesthood and to work for the ‘sanctification’ of the clergy. But his work and ideas must be seen here in a broader perspective, for Bérulle and his disciples shared with St Francis de Sales the aim, expressed in his Introduction à la vie devote (1608), of creating and promoting a spirituality available to all Christians. This article examines his conception of the Oratory, which he intended to be an intermediary between the religious orders and the secular clergy, his spiritual theology, what I have called his ‘spiritual pedagogy’, and his influence in France and elsewhere.     

The Glory of God is a Human Being Fully Alive: Predictors of Positive Versus Negative Mental Health Among Clergy

Clergy fulfill vital societal functions as meaning makers and community builders. Partly because of their important roles, clergy frequently encounter stressful situations. Further, studies suggest that clergy experience high rates of depression. Despite this, few studies have examined protective factors for clergy that may increase their positive mental health. We invited all United Methodist clergy in North Carolina to participate in a survey. Of church‐serving clergy, 85 percent responded (n = 1,476). Hierarchical multiple regression was used to assess the predictors of three positive and four negative mental health outcomes. The three sets of predictors were: demographics, which explained 2–10 percent of the variances; variables typically related to mental health (social support, social isolation, and financial stress), which explained 14–41 percent of the variances; and clergy‐specific variables, which explained 14–20 percent of the variances, indicating the importance of measuring occupation‐specific variables. Some variables (e.g., congregation demands) significantly related to both positive and negative mental health, whereas others (e.g., positive congregations, congregation support) significantly related primarily to positive mental health. In addition to their intervention implications, these findings support separate consideration for negative versus positive mental health.     

Blessed be the Children: A Case–Control Study of Sexual Abusers in the Catholic Church

Individuals working in churches and other youth-serving institutions have a unique level of access to children, yet the problem of sexual abuse in institutional settings has received scant research attention. To address this gap, we analyzed data from a large sample of clergy (N = 1,121) and applied a social–ecological model of offending to identify risk factors for sexual abuse perpetration. Using a case–control study design that compared clergy sexual abusers with three control groups of clergy, this study focuses specifically on individual-, relationship-, and community-level factors associated with a higher risk of abuse in professional populations. Findings revealed that clergy sexual abusers tended to have more truncated pre-seminary dating histories, and that their dating and sexual partners were more likely to have been male than female. Self-reported sexual abuse history was associated with a greater likelihood of sexual abuse perpetration among clergy. Clergy abusers tended to be more involved with youth and adolescents in their ministries; however, they were observed to relate less well to youth and adolescents than their clergy counterparts. Given widespread changes in our cultural understanding of abuse as well as more specific changes in the organizational approach to seminary education, these differences underscore the role that youth-serving institutions and society can have in the primary prevention of child sexual abuse. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Physical Health Functioning Among United Methodist Clergy

United Methodist clergy have been found to have higher than average self-reported rates of obesity, diabetes, asthma, arthritis, and high blood pressure. However, health diagnoses differ from physical health functioning, which indicates how much health problems interfere with activities of daily living. Ninety-five percent (n = 1726) of all actively serving United Methodist clergy in North Carolina completed the SF-12, a measure of physical health functioning that has US norms based on self-administered survey data. Sixty-two percent (n = 1074) of our sample completed the SF-12 by self-administered formats. We used mean difference tests among self-administered clergy surveys to compare the clergy SF-12 Physical Composite Scores to US-normed scores. Clergy reported significantly better physical health composite scores than their gender- and age-matched peers, despite above average disease burden in the same sample. Although health interventions tailored to clergy that address chronic disease are urgently needed, it may be difficult to elicit participation given pastors’ optimistic view of their physical health functioning.     

Narcissistic Measures of Lutheran Clergy Who Self-Reported Committing Sexual Misconduct

This study sought to determine if narcissism was a factor in Lutheran clergy who self-reported committing sexual misconduct. Sexual misconduct was defined as any activity in which a clergyperson, single or married, engaged in sexual behavior (sexual intercourse, kissing, touching or hugging with sexual intent, use of sexually explicit language) with a parishioner, client, or employee of the church (Francis & Turner, 1995). The results indicated that clergy who self-reported having committed sexual misconduct and had high levels of narcissism were not significantly different from those clergy who self-reported not having committed sexual misconduct. Demographic and related findings are also discussed. Former Lutheran minister and is currently an Assistant Professor of education atAssociate Professor of professional counseling in the Division of Professional Psychology at the     

Protestant Clergy and the Culture Wars: An Empirical Test of Hunter's Thesis

Examinations of culture wars typically assess the attitudes of the American public. This study instead focuses on culture wars among religious elites—clergy—and tests three aspects of the culture wars thesis: (1) whether religious elites are engaged in culture wars, (2) whether clergy attitudes are polarized on these issues, and (3) whether religious authority or religious affiliation is more salient in creating culture wars cleavages. Using data from a large random sample of Protestant clergy, we find a substantial amount of engagement in culture wars by all types of Protestant clergy. The amount of polarization is more attributable to views of religious authority (i.e., biblical inerrancy) than to religious tradition. Moreover, polarization among clergy is somewhat more evident on culture wars issues than on other social and political issues. These findings are generally supportive of the culture wars thesis and should help return examinations of culture wars back to where they were originally theorized to be waged: among elites.     

Cognitive-behavioral treatment for professional sexual misconduct among the clergy

Inappropriate sexual behavior by professionals has been reported in increasing numbers. This article focuses on the cognitive-behavioral treatment of clergy who have acted out sexually. Case studies are used to identify the various issues and facets of treatment. The article concludes with a program designed to return previously offending clergy to active roles within their denominations is described.     

Burnout and Depression Among Roman Catholic Secular,Religious, and Monastic Clergy

Burnout and depression among Roman Catholic secular, religious order, and monastic (Cistercian) priests was investigated using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CESD) scale. Additionally, a Self-Report-Inventory (SRI) was included requesting information on demographics as well as four categories of predictor variables (vocational satisfaction, social support, spiritual activities, and physical environment) associated with burnout and depression. All participants were randomly selected. The survey yielded a return rate of 90.67%. Secular clergy reported significantly greater emotional exhaustion than did monastic clergy. Secular priests also had significantly greater depression (72%), when compared to religious (40.8%) and monastic (39.5) clergy. Overall group comparisons revealed that secular clergy experienced the highest degree of burnout and depression, monastics the least, and religious priests falling in between. The lack of social support and sense of isolation, for secular clergy, were key elements associated with their experience of both burnout and depression. Candidate in Psychology atand a Psychology Intern at the Ohio State University     

Women Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence: Effects of Confiding in Religious Leaders

IPV is the most challenging mental health problem facing clergy. Abused women (n = 476), most of whom are Christians living at home (not in shelters), sought assistance from domestic violence centers. Data obtained from questionnaires demonstrated that confiding in clergy predicts higher self-esteem and reduces the impact of lack of social support on self-esteem, self-efficacy, and life satisfaction. Compassionate clergy counseling can have a positive influence on psychological outcomes of women in abusive relationships.     

Clergy sexual misconduct: The affair everyone remembers

Reported instances of clergy sexual misconduct have risen significantly in recent years. Allegations of sexual misconduct have long lasting effects on the career of the clergy, the persons involved, and the congregations. A distinction is made between those clergy who engage in this behavior due to a personality disorder, and those who engage in sexual misconduct as a response to spousal or congregational conflict. In working with the women who have been sexually involved with the clergy, there needs to be a recognition of both the damage done to the woman and the woman's perception that some benefits may have resulted from this relationship. Congregations who have been through this experience will be reluctant to deal with it Unless there is ongoing consultation, there is an increased risk that the congregation will project their unresolved issues on the subsequent clergyperson thereby severely jeopardizing his or her chances of succeeding in the position. Arlene B. Brewster is a psychologist in private practice and is on the adjunct faculty of the Northeastern Ohio College of Medicine. Additional information may be requested by writing her at Associates in Counseling, #205 5500 Market St., Boardman, Ohio 44512.     

Clergy involvement in occupational safety and health

The toll exacted by occupational injuries and illnesses on employed people involves a degree of personal and family suffering of such magnitude that clergy can legitimately consider it a part of their pastoral responsibilities to address the problem. Several cogent reasons for clergy involvement in occupational safety and health are provided, along with approaches clergy can implement to help parishioners reduce their workplace risks. Resources for assistance in engaging in these activities are suggested.This article represents an expansion of a paper that appeared originally inCurrents in Theology and Mission, Fall 1979.     

Collaboration Between Clergy and Mental Health Professionals: A Review of Professional Health Care Journals From 1980 Through 1999

Given the frontline role of community clergy in mental health care, this study examined how collaboration with clergy was viewed by mental health and other health professionals outside of the religious community. Searches of health care journals on Medline and PsycINFO yielded 44 articles from non‐religious journals from 1980 through 1999 that specifically addressed collaboration between clergy and mental health professionals. Seven themes were identified through content analysis, including the benefits of collaboration to each profession, the need to increase the clergy's knowledge about mental heath, and the importance of referrals. Discussion about interdisciplinary referrals significantly increased over time, r_ø (1, N = 44) = .31, p < .05).     

The Apostasy of the Church and the Cross of Christ: Hans Urs von Balthasar on the Mystery of the Church as Casta Meretrix

The ongoing moral and theological catastrophe of persistent and pervasive clergy sexual abuse across the Catholic Church makes theological reflection on sin in the church essential. This essay has two parts. The first, longer part is a hermeneutical argument. I offer a contextualized interpretation of Hans Urs von Balthasar's 1960 essay “Casta Meretrix,” in which he traced the image of the church as a “chaste harlot” through the Christian tradition. I demonstrate that several recent interpretations of this essay have not penetrated to its radical heart. A close reading of the text reveals that here Balthasar affirmed that the church sins precisely as the church, and not merely as individual members. The motivation for this affirmation was not the empirical failures of individuals, but was properly dogmatic—a necessary implication of christology. In the second and concluding part of the essay, I contend that even though Balthasar's use of the feminized image of the casta meretrix does have significant problems and should not be uncritically adopted today, the underlying theological claim regarding the church as sinner is theologically significant. He affirmed a necessary ecclesiological truth, one that can help the church recover its visibility and better understand its essence in repentance, which is all the more essential in light of the continuing revelations of clergy sexual abuse.