Handling greedy clergy roles: A dual clergy example

Striking changes have occurred in the number of women who have been ordained as clergy in the Protestant denominations in North America. With these changes has come a concomitant increase in the number of dual clergy couples. These couples are a new variant on the dual career theme. They share some of the same strains which have been identified for dual career couples in general; namely, identity issues, work and role overload, role cycling problems, social network dilemmas and discrepancies between personal and social norms. In addition, particular qualities of the clergy role create problems which these couples must address. One such problem is handling the ambivalent boundary between work and family roles. Two aspects of this issue are the absorptiveness of the role and the embeddedness of both work and family roles. The present paper discusses these boundary issues using data from a study of a population of dual clergy couples in two synods of the Lutheran church in two western Canadian provinces. Strategies for handling these issues are suggested for couples, church leaders and congregational representatives.Thanks are expressed to Les Vaala, Director of Student Life, Camrose Lutheran College, Camrose Alberta who was a cooperating researcher in the study.     

Gender Issues in US Science and Technology Policy: Equality of What?

Fairness in evaluation processes for women in science and engineering is only one of a set of issues that need to be addressed to reach gender equality. This article uses concepts from Amartya Sen's work on inequality to frame gender issues in science and technology policy. Programs that focus on increasing the number of women in science and engineering careers have not generally addressed a broader set of circumstances that intersect with gender at various economic levels and stages of life. The agendas in research and innovation policies also need to reflect these issues, and fair allocation of resources within both science and technology needs to be on the agenda. Getting women into high-level positions is not enough. Articulating the full research and innovation agendas for women will require broader participatory processes.     

激励发展中国家的卫生研究——再思考与研讨新策略时代正在兴起

发展中国家需要更清晰地明确其卫生研究面临的优先项目,即国家应共同分担全球性研究项目,增强激励和纳入研究轨道的国家能力,把循证决策人微言轻政策决策的基础,加强国家与国际合作问题是卫生研究中的中心议题。     

A Qualitative Study of the Supports Women Find Most Beneficial When Dealing with a Spouse’s Sexually Addictive or Compulsive Behaviors: Insights for Pastoral Counselors and Clergy

There is currently a void in the literature regarding the kinds of support women find most beneficial when dealing with a spouse’s sexually addictive or compulsive behaviors. Addressing this void is particularly relevant for clergy, seeing as they are increasingly sought out as an initial and/or primary support for dealing with this marital issue. Using grounded theory methodology, 22 women from Canada and the USA were interviewed to find out what they found most helpful as they sought support to cope with a spouse’s sexually addictive and compulsive behaviors. Insights for pastoral counselors and clergy were highlighted.     

The Price of the Calling: Exploring Clergy Compensation Using Current Population Survey Data

Previous research shows that clergy make less money than others with similar levels of education. We use Current Population Survey data to offer five contributions to knowledge about clergy compensation. First, we document and take into account the shift in clergy compensation from the provision of free housing to the payment of housing allowances. Second, although the clergy earnings disadvantage appears to have increased over the last 40 years relative to their educational peers, the picture changes when we exclude the highest income occupations. Clergy have lost ground to doctors, lawyers, and investment bankers, but they have gained ground relative to everyone else. Third, these gains are largely because of decline in the number of hours clergy report working. Fourth, we show that clergy working in churches earn less than clergy working elsewhere. Fifth, we document immediate wage penalties for those who become clergy and, among clergy, for those who begin to work in congregations. Overall, although clergy still earn less than comparable workers, their position has improved in recent decades relative to all but the highest earning occupations.     

Ethical dilemmas in context: Some preliminary questions

I have tried to build on O'Neill's thought-provoking paper by examining two influences that shape and define ethical dilemmas in the community: our personal agendas and the broader context. The first influence is the way in which our personal and professional values shape our agendas for community work. The way these agendas frame the choices for action are a force to be recognized separate from the question of who constitutes our community constituency. Our values may push us into proactive roles and we must face the way our actions make personal/political statements. The broader context of the community situation and the ways in which resource limitations frame the ethical question also need to be actively recognized. Otherwise there is a danger of making the psychologist the victim by posing the ethical dilemma as a question of how they alone should find a solution. The nature of our personal agenda must be clear before we ask “responsible to whom?” The broader context must be considered before we ask “responsible for what?”     

The Past is a Foreigners' Country: Goddess Feminists,Archaeologists, and the Appropriation of Prehistory

Feminist archaeologists and others have criticised the Goddess movement, and Marija Gimbutas in particular, for producing 'Golden Age' theories about the past, claiming that there is no convincing archaeological evidence that Old Europe was universally peopled by matrifocal, peaceful, egalitarian societies who worshipped a Great Goddess. Goddess feminists are accused of appropriating and mythologising the past to serve their contemporary political agenda. This paper considers such criticisms and argues that archaeologists, too, can be shown to have agendas of their own in relation to the past. Following a theoretical discussion, the issues of appropriation and colonisation are considered with respect to Malta's neolithic 'Temple Culture', and the agendas and activities of Goddess feminists in relation to it. The discussion is based on recent anthropological fieldwork in Malta.     

不同学习目标条件下学习时间分配的习惯性反应

采用眼动记录技术,探讨不同学习目标条件下词对位置对学习时间分配的影响。实验结果发现：在高学习目标条件下,词对位置对项目选择存在显著影响,对自定步调学习时间不存在显著影响;在低学习目标下,词对位置对项目选择和自定步调学习时间均不存在显著影响。表明议程驱动和习惯性反应是影响学习时间分配的两种认知机制,学习者会根据学习情境采用议程驱动或习惯性反应来有效地进行学习时间分配,以最小的努力实现学习目标。     

A Phenomenological Study: Black Clergy Leaders’ Response to Violence against Women

Violence against women and religious participation are two phenomena that are pervasive across many African American communities. African American women experience intimate partner violence at a rate higher than the majority of racial groups in the United States. Although many African American women highly depend on their faith and church to navigate their experiences with intimate partner violence, scant attention has been given to the role that Black clergy leaders have in responding to intimate partner violence against women. The current study utilized phenomenological methodology to understand better Black American clergy leaders’ responses to intimate partner violence against women. Findings from clergy leaders’ narratives suggested that they serve primarily four roles when responding to intimate partner violence against women: spiritual advisor, pastoral care/counselor, compassionate leaders, and uninformed responders. Overall, these themes indicate that although African American clergy acknowledge the prevalence of intimate partner violence within their communities, and are trained in pastoral counseling, they lack knowledge and training to respond to intimate partner violence. Discussion centers on the need for clergy to be trained in the area of intimate partner violence response given their position within the church. The results in this study can help clergy leaders understand the basics of intimate partner violence and identify gaps in their practices with abused women.     

Talking about Homosexuality: The Views of Mainline Protestant Clergy

Homosexuality is one of the most divisive issues within mainline Protestantism today. In this article we portray the many sides of mainline Protestantism's debates about homosexuality through the lens of statements clergy made about the issue in early 2000. In interviews with 62 mainline Protestant clergy across the United States, 40 volunteered their views on homosexuality without being prompted. We describe the frames through which clergy understand and articulate issues related to homosexuality in the midst of contentious denominational debate about the subject. The majority of clergy who discussed homosexuality focused on the issue in their churches instead of in society at large, and in their denominations rather than in their own congregations. Moreover, virtually none of the clergy interviewed took hard and fast stands on the issue of homosexuality. Most approach the issue in a pragmatic, rather than prophetic, way. Our interviews also show that pastors who choose to speak on homosexuality tend to frame the issue in terms of the diffuse notion of "homosexuality," rather than talking about gay men and lesbians as people.     

Public policymaking and research information

The public policymaking process presents behavior analysts with opportunities to shape public policy and influence decisions that affect the evolution of communities. Although the scientist-advocate's role in public policymaking has received increased attention, little attention has been given to behavioral analyses of the policymaking context. This paper describes the stages of policymaking, including agenda formation, policy adoption, policy implementation, and policy review. It also analyzes seven types of research information important in agenda formation and policy adoption-information about the dimensions of an issue, number of people affected, relative standing of an issue, interests of those involved, controlling variables, program alternatives, and program acceptability. Methods for communicating research information to policymakers are discussed.     

Marriage and ministry in midlife women

This study of 15 midlife women seminarians or clergy and 13 of their husbands focuses upon the tension between a commitment to family life and a commitment to ordained ministry. The women were preparing to become Protestant clergy or were already in this vocation, while their husbands were middle-class, successful professional people. The study examines the impact of the new cultural self-development ethic upon the lives and religious faith of the women. Husbands' responses to the wives' changes are considered, and suggestions are made to supervising judicatories regarding assistance that may be given to the couples.He is an ordained minister of the Lutheran Church in America as well as a licensed psychologist in the state of Pennsylvania.     

THE PLACEBO EFFECT: WHAT'S INTERESTING FOR SCHOLARS OF RELIGION?

Abstract. The placebo effect these days is no longer merely the insubstantial, subjective response that some patients have to a sham treatment, like a sugar pill. It has been reconceived as a powerful mind‐body phenomenon. Because of this, it has also emerged as a complex reference point in a number of high‐stakes conversations about the metaphysical significance of experiences of religious healing, the possible health benefits of being religious, and the feasibility of using double‐blind placebo‐controlled trials to investigate the efficacy of prayer. In each of these conversations, the placebo effect is always pointing toward some larger issue, serving some larger agenda. The agendas, though, tend to pull in different directions, leading to a situation that feels at once fractured and stalemated. This essay reviews the main areas of interest, and proposes some specific issues where humanistic scholars of religion in particular might be able to introduce constructive and creative new perspectives.     

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.     

Are Bivocational Clergy Becoming the New Normal? An Analysis of the Current Population Survey, 1996–2017

Transitions in the American religious landscape including religious nonaffiliation, congregational and seminary enrollment declines, and the proliferation of megachurches have reshaped the clergy labor market and increased the precariousness of this type of work. One potential indication of this growing instability is the supposedly increasing number of bivocational clergy who depend on a second job to supplement their income. There are few reliable data, however, that can trace out national‐level trends of bivocational clergy. Using the Current Population Survey, this study tests whether there has been any proportional increase in bivocational clergy and to what extent such an increase has been localized to certain groups. We find that the percentage of clergy who report having a second job has not increased since 1996. However, clergy who are female, unmarried, or working in the American northeast are increasingly likely to report working a second job. These trends suggest that clergy who receive occupational advantages—due to gender or marital status—or who live in highly religious/low cost‐of‐living regions of the country may be protected from taking on a second job whereas those clergy without these advantages increasingly must depend on additional sources of income.     

Credentialism Across Creeds: Clergy Education and Stratification in Protestant Denominations

In this paper, we explore how Protestant denominations use education to stratify their pastors among lower and higher income jobs and how this use of education intersects with gender. We assume that reliance on education as anindication of job qualification ultimately reflects accommodation to secular norms and hypothesize that it will be practiced most strongly in theologically liberal contexts. Next, we hypothesize that women will benefit from education more than men, a pattern that is typical of secular labor markets. And we predict that education will have a stronger effect on income in denominations where regional clergy administrators have influence in matching pastors to jobs. Data are taken from the 1994 "Ordained Women and Men Study"and consist of career information on clergy in fifteen denominations. Contrary to expectations, clergy degrees have a stronger effect on income in conservative than in liberal denominations. We further find that women clergy receive lower income returns to their degrees in denominations requiring a Master of Divinity for ordination but receive higher returns in the others. Finally, results show that seminary prestige is more beneficial in denominations where pastors are hired directly by congregations rather than placed in congregations by regional clergy administrators.     

A Liberal Dynamo: The Political Activism of the Unitarian-Universalist Clergy

This article describes the political participation of Unitarian-Universalist Association (UUA) clergy in politics, using a mail survey of UUA clergy. The UUA is the preeminent liberal denomination in the United States, and although it is a relatively small part of the population, it is vastly overrepresented among political activists. The UUA clergy are deeply involved in political activity and were especially so in the 2000 election. Largely consistent with the literature, the UUA clergy tend to specialize in various modes of activism, and five types are evident: campaigners, protestors, contactors, educators, and a relatively inactive group of observers. Theology, social theology, partisanship, ideology, and issue positions are all associated with political activism in this relatively homogenous group of clergy. However, these factors largely play an indirect role in explaining the level of political activity, acting through factors such as psychological engagement, issue salience, and clergy role definitions. In sum, the UUA clergy is a liberal dynamo in American politics.     

Missed opportunity for creating value in negotiations: reluctance to making Integrative Gambit Offers

In the present study we address a multi‐issue negotiation agenda, where several issues are under consideration and parties have different priorities among these issues. We suggest that in such agendas loss aversion and within issue anchoring may constrain the configuration of offers that parties propose to each other during the course of negotiation. We specifically focus on offers in which negotiators self‐propose to give the other party more than was demanded on one of the issues, while still maintaining or improving their overall value. We term such offers Integrative Gambit Offers (“IGO”s) and show that although making such offers improves integrative negotiation outcome, the frequency of making them is relatively low, and does not increase as negotiators gain experience with the task. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Clergy Response to Domestic Violence: A Preliminary Survey of Clergy Members,Victims, and Batterers

Although the presence of both religious organizations and violence in American communities is pervasive, scant attention has focused on how to best enroll clergy and religiously oriented resources in the battle against family violence. Given that it is not uncommon for women or couples to seek counseling or advice from clergy before accessing community-based resources, the frequency, nature, and utility of these contacts were assessed in this exploratory study from the perspectives of 47 female victims and 70 male perpetrators of domestic violence. Forty-one clergy members from various denominations were also surveyed about their contacts with those seeking help for domestic violence. Results indicated that 43% of the victims and 20% of the perpetrators did seek help from clergy. Almost all of the victims who contacted clergy reported satisfaction with the counsel they received. All clergy respondents reported counseling people who had experienced domestic violence during their career, and 80% had violence-related contacts in the past year. The service-related implications of these clergy contacts from victim, perpetrator, and clergy perspectives are discussed.     

Uncertainty in Clergy’s Perspectives on Homosexuality: A Research Note

This research note analyzes expressions of uncertainty in clergy??s perspectives on homosexuality. We conducted interviews with forty Christian clergy who lead congregations in the vicinity of one large southeastern US city. Seven in ten clergy interviewed expressed uncertainty in their personal opinions about homosexuality, uncertainty about how they should act pursuant to the issue, or both. We describe clergy??s experiences with these uncertainties and analyze the patterns in which it appears in their opinions and actions regarding homosexuality. The nuance evident in these patterns illustrates how a range of superseding factors influence clergy??s opinions about homosexuality and the extent to which they feel constrained in taking action with regard to the issue. We argue for the conceptual value of a framework that provides space for analysis of uncertainty in public opinion about contentious social issues such as homosexuality.