Clergy Working Outside of Congregations, 1976–2018

Abstract

Changes in the American religious landscape have affected the professional religious labor force in the United States. These changes may be leading clergy to work for multiple congregations (Robbins and Francis in J Empir Theol 27(2):261–280, 2014), in multiple occupations (Chang, in: Carroll (ed) Pulpit & pew: research on pastoral leadership, Duke Divinity School, Durham, 2004), and/or to seek out clergy work outside of congregations (Chang and Bompadre in J Sci Study Relig 38(3):398–410, 1999). Focusing on the latter, this study addresses the research questions: What are the patterns and demographics of non-congregational clergy and how have these patterns changed over time? Using national-level data, we present the first large-scale mapping of clergy working outside of congregations over the past 42 years. We observe that non-congregational clergy are more likely to be women, live in cities, and have an advanced degree. Moreover, clergy in non-traditional types of family structure are more likely to find clergy work outside of congregations compared to clergy living in a nuclear family. We suggest several factors that might account for these differences.