Same-Sex Marriage and Equality

Some argue that same-sex marriage is not an equal rights issue because, where same-sex marriage is illegal, heterosexuals and homosexuals have the exact same right to marry—i.e., the right to marry one adult of the opposite sex. I dispute this argument by pointing out that while societies that prohibit same-sex marriage equally permit individual heterosexuals and homosexuals to marry one adult of the opposite sex, same-sex couples in such societies are denied an important right that opposite-sex couples enjoy—i.e., the right to marry. I argue that the right to marry is fundamentally, not an individual right, but a couple’s collective right, analogous to assembly rights.     

Longitudinal Effects of Religious Media on Opposition to Same-Sex Marriage

Religion and anti-gay prejudice in the United States are closely connected. Yet we still know little about the specific mechanisms through which religious subcultures may shape adherents’ attitudes toward gays and lesbians. This study considers religious media consumption as a unique mechanism through which religious Americans are socialized and embedded within an anti-gay religious subculture. Drawing on panel data from the nationally-representative Portraits of American Life Study, and focusing on opposition to same-sex marriage as a measure of anti-gay prejudice, analyses show that more frequent consumption of religious radio and TV (but not internet) is associated with higher levels of opposition to same-sex marriage over time. These effects remain significant with different model specifications as well as controls for previous attitudes toward same-sex marriage, general media use, sociodemographic and religious characteristics, and intimate contact with gays and lesbians. We propose that consuming religious media over time may influence Americans’ views toward LGBT issues directly through explicit messages about homosexuality and indirectly by embedding Americans within a broader religious subculture (largely, conservative Protestantism) that opposes homosexuality.     

Satisfaction and Morale Among Parish Clergy: What American Catholic and Orthodox Priests Can Learn from Each Other

The Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches share a similar theology and a hierarchical church administration. Local parish communities are organized in similar ways. However, the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christian churches occupy different places in the context of American culture, and they have developed distinct notions of priesthood. Findings explore similarities and differences in the attitudes and experience of Catholic and Orthodox clergy. Most striking, the younger clergy (less than 45 years of age) report more conservative attitudes about the priesthood, "democracy" in church government, and empowering lay persons in the ministry.     

How Charity Transcends the Culture Wars: Eugene Rogers and Others on Same-Sex Marriage

In 1994 the "Ramsey Colloquium," under the leadership of Richard John Neuhaus, posed a challenge to what it called the "homosexual movement" within the Christian Church. The challenge was to prove that it had reasons distinguishable from secular liberalism—reasons consistent with orthodox Christian theology—in favor of same-sex coupling. Eugene Rogers's book, Sexuality and the Christian Body: Their Way into the Triune God , can be read as a response to this challenge. The book is important not only for the content of its arguments, which are imaginative and theologically rigorous, but also for the exemplary way in which Rogers exhibits charity in his account of his conservative opponents. Rogers's recent anthology, Theology and Sexuality , provides additional evidence that a new, more promising debate is arising within the Church, a debate that has some hope of transcending the rhetoric of the culture wars.     

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.     

Retirement Planning for Clergy: Need and Content

ABSTRACT

Retirement is seen as one of the most critical transitions in the life cycle. This fact is no less true for religious leaders. After years as the “chief executive officer” of several congregations, many clergy find adjustment to retirement to be a difficult task-emotionally, financially, and socially. Different from many professionals, clergy see their “calling” to their vocation, the ministry, to be a lifetime commitment. Given these factors, retirement can bring drastic changes in the clergy's life–his/her self-identity, sense of importance and value as an individual and as a member of society, relationships with family and friends, financial status, and living arrangements. Yet few denominations provide opportunities for preretirement education for their religious leaders; therefore many clergy make little or no preparation for retirement. This paper looks at pertinent issues related to retirement for clergy. Objectives and content areas for preretirement education are suggested.     

Results of Walking in Faith: A Faith-Based Physical Activity Program for Clergy

Clergy are disproportionately affected by obesity and chronic disease. Physical activity (PA) offers a viable option for addressing the health of clergy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a culturally tailored PA program for clergy. Clergy (N = 44) were randomly assigned to an intervention group or wait-list control group. Baseline and follow-up measures included PA behavior and psychosocial measures. Analyses revealed a significant effect of the intervention on sedentary behavior, PA behavior, self-efficacy for PA, and outcome expectations for PA. Culturally tailored PA programs could potentially influence PA behavior and psychosocial mediators of PA among clergy.     

Understanding Stress and Life Satisfaction for Children of Clergy: A Retrospective Study

Because clergy children live within a unique family context, the goal of this study was to examine the individual and family stressors that adult clergy children experience while growing up and how individual and family coping resources, along with the adult clergy children’s perceptions of their experiences or sense of coherence, have affected the perceived life satisfaction. The present study examined the life satisfaction of clergy and non-clergy children, both retrospectively as adolescents and currently as adults, to determine the stability of their perceived life satisfaction over time. Compared to a sample of adult non-clergy children, adult clergy children experienced greater levels of individual and family stress along with a lower sense of coherence and less life satisfaction as adolescents. A path analysis of the model based on family stress theory indicates that sense of coherence provided the greatest total effect on participants’ life satisfaction as adolescents, whereas life satisfaction as adolescents provided the greatest total effect on life satisfaction as adults. These findings provide several implications for research and practice.     

Pastoral Counseling Down Under: A Survey of Australian Clergy

This survey research describes the attitudes and practices of Australian Christian clergy regarding counseling in their pastoral care roles. Data has been collected by use of a mail survey of 1954 Australian clergy residing in the state of Queensland from Dec 2007 until March 2008. 758 useable surveys were returned resulting in a return rate of 40.1%. The clergy’s (a) confidence in handling seven different counseling situations, (b) counseling preparation, (c) professional knowledge about counseling, (d) counseling modality, and (e) demographics were assessed. Australian Christian clergy are thus described with a discussion of a number of implications for training organisations such as Bible Colleges and Seminaries.     

Sexual Identity Development: A Base for Work with Same-Sex Couple Partner Abuse

Literature review reveals that domestic violence occurs in same-sex relationships at approximately the same rate as it does in heterosexual relationships. There are a number of dimensions common to same-sex and heterosexual battering as well as significant differences. The differential impact of sexual identity development on same-sex violence has not been addressed in the literature. Unlike the situation with heterosexual couples, there is little in the literature addressing treatment guidelines for work with same-sex couples. This article highlights some of the differences between same-sex battering and heterosexual battering and suggests the need for additional research on the interaction between sexual identity development stages of same-sex partners and domestic violence.