Credentialism Across Creeds: Clergy Education and Stratification in Protestant Denominations

Abstract

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 an indication 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.

The prestige of the Doctor of Ministry among Roman Catholic priests, deacons, and directors of religious education

“…Chaves (1991) writes that in an effort to raise their legitimacy at the beginning of the twentieth century, many seminaries sought recognition and accreditation as graduate schools by modeling themselves on secular programs and in some cases forming affiliations with prestigious universities. The US Department of Labor classifies clergy as being in “Job zone five: extensive preparation needed,” which indicates that the occupation generally requires graduate school education (http://online.onetcenter.org/link/summary/21‐2011.00), but the educational requirements for clergy are fragmented and vary greatly among religious denominations (Finke and Stark, 1992; Perl and Chang, 2000).…”

“…Christopherson, 1994; Gombis, 2010; Hiltner, 1961; Hudson, 1992; Jones, 2009; McNicol, 1992; Nauss, 1994). However, education serves as a tangible indicator of quality among the clergy, much like as it does in secular occupations (Perl and Chang, 2000; Wildhagen et al , 2005). As Perl and Chang (2000, p. 172) explain, “Traditional religious norms generally dictate that religious leadership is ultimately legitimized on the basis of a supernatural ‘call.’ From this perspective, the best way to judge qualification of clergy members may be discerning the presence of the spirit in the individual.…”

“…However, education serves as a tangible indicator of quality among the clergy, much like as it does in secular occupations (Perl and Chang, 2000; Wildhagen et al , 2005). As Perl and Chang (2000, p. 172) explain, “Traditional religious norms generally dictate that religious leadership is ultimately legitimized on the basis of a supernatural ‘call.’ From this perspective, the best way to judge qualification of clergy members may be discerning the presence of the spirit in the individual. In some denominations, however, there may be an additional desire to judge qualification on the basis of more objective criteria that are thought to relate to abilities and predict performance.…”

“Just Reproduce After What I Taught You”

“…Yet the sociology of religion literature has not examined the role of socioeconomic inequality in religious youth programs. The closest it comes to addressing this is one study that examines rates of participation in religious activities based on socioeconomic backgrounds of youth (Schwadel, 2008) and another that examines the role of pastoral education background in hiring patterns (Perl & Chang, 2000). However, even these studies do not directly address potential cultural differences in religious youth socialization driven by inequality.…”

Religious Resources, Spiritual Struggles, and Mental Health in a Nationwide Sample of PCUSA Clergy

“…These roles exist in hierarchies, with social roles in which a person has made greater temporal, financial, and psychological investments being more central to an individual's identity than other roles. Clergy make significant investments in learning about their faith tradition, and their work life and occupational identity is oriented around their religious community (Finke and Dougherty 2002;Ingram 1981;Mueller and McDuff 2004;Perl and Chang 2000). As clergy, they play many different roles that involve many distinct activities and responsibilities, ranging from preaching and teaching, to planning and administering congregational affairs, to pastoral visitations and counseling (Francis et al 2008;Kay 2000;Monahan 1999;Rowell 2000).…”