Assessing the Clergy Supply in the 21st Century
Patricia M. Y. Chang
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In this Pulpit & Pew research report, sociologist
Patricia M. Y. Chang examines the current state of supply and demand
for clergy in U.S. churches. Despite such obstacles as conflicting
data and a lack of reliable consistent information across denominations,
Chang is able to present a broad look at clergy supply along with
some helpful answers and policy recommendations. She finds that pastoral
vacancies are primarily a problem of small or rural congregations,
which lack the financial resources to attract and retain a full-time
pastor. As a result, a growing number of congregations will rely upon
lay or part-time clergy for pastoral leadership in the future. The
report also includes commentaries from four observers of the clergy
job market.
Executive summary (html) |
Download the full report in Adobe Acrobat
PDF format (1.84 MB).
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