Religion in America: Religious Leaders

ARDA LEARNING RESOURCES Religion in America: Religious Leaders

Objective: 1) Introduce students to the religious leaders who are guiding these congregations and denominations 2) How gender influences these leaders 3) Familiarize students with online research tools

Activity: Explore the types of religious leaders in American denominations and congregations using The ARDA Religion Dictionary (Archbishop, Bishop, Cardinal, Clergy, Deacon, Elder, Imam, Pastor, Patriarch, Patriarchate, Pope, Priest, Rabbi)

As a class, view various worship service videos on The ARDA’s YouTube channel paying particular attention to the leader(s) of each service and the wider religious group of which they are a part

Using the QuickStats tool, explore various aspects of the clergy in congregations in the United States such as education level, if the clergy work full time, gender, if women are allowed be a religious leader, and if women are allowed to preach (be sure to also examine the demographic patterns of the congregations in relation to each of these measures of the clergy)

Explore the data archive on The ARDA for surveys that focus on religious leaders like the U.S. Congregational Life Survey of religious leaders in the following denominations: Nazarene, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Racial/Ethnic Presbyterian, Seventh-Day Adventist, Southern Baptist, United Church of Christ, United Methodist; the Pulpit and Pew National Survey of Pastoral Leaders; and the Survey of American Catholic Priests

Assessment: Using what they now know, students could write a response paper to one of the many Ahead of the Trend articles that discuss the clergy. Possible articles include clergy and congregational conflict, clergy and sexuality in congregations, clergy and sexual abuse scandals, clergy and economic hardship, and the challenges clergywomen face

Direct students to complete one of several learning modules in The Learning Center pertaining to the clergy: Clergy Satisfaction and Vocational Commitment, Views of Religious Authorities, Women in the Seminary, or Who is Leading America’s Congregations? A Social Demographic Profile of U.S. Pastors

Direct students to the Prominent Religious Events and People section on the Interactive Timeline page. Have students find 3 prominent figures and look at the time line to see what events occurred at the time of their significance. Identify one event that may have had an impact on the individual and explain how it may have impacted them.

COPYRIGHT  ASSOCIATION OF RELIGION DATA ARCHIVES | 1 of 2 ARDA LEARNING RESOURCES Religion in America: Religious Leaders

Suggested readings: Adams, Jimi. 2007. “Stained Glass Makes the Ceiling Visible: Organizational Opposition to Women in Congregational Leadership.” Gender and Society 21(1):80-105.

Chaves, Mark. 1997. Ordaining Women: Culture and Conflict in Religious Organizations. Harvard.

Chaves, Mark. 2004. Congregations in America. Harvard. Ch. 2, pp. 39-42.

Chaves, Mark. 2011. American Religion: Contemporary Trends. Princeton. Ch. 6.

Christiano, Kevin J., William H. Swatos, Jr., and Peter Kivisto. 2002. Sociology of Religion: Contemporary Developments. AltaMira. Pp. 185-196.

Guth, James L., John C. Green, Corwin E. Smidt, Lyman A. Kellstedt, and Margaret M. Poloma. 1997. The Bully Pulpit: The Politics of Protestant Clergy. Kansas.

Nesbitt, Paula D. 1997. Feminization of the Clergy in America. Oxford.

Nesbitt, Paula. 2007. “Keepers of the Tradition: Religious Professionals and their Careers.” In The SAGE Handbook of the Sociology of Religion, J.A. Beckford and N.J. Demerath (eds.), pp. 295-322. London.

“Religious Producer” in the Religion Dictionary in Teaching Tools on The ARDA

Roberts, Keith and David Yamane. 2011. Religion in the Sociological Perspective, 5th edition. Sage. Pp. 272-276.

Smidt, Corwin. 2003. “Clergy in American Politics: An Introduction.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 42(4):495-499.

Wallace, Ruth. 2011. “The Social Construction of a New Leadership Role: Catholic Women Pastors.” In Sociology of Religion: A Reader (2nd edition), S. Monahan, W. Mirola, and M. Emerson (eds.), pp. 118-124. Pearson.

Weber, Max. [1922] 1993. The Sociology of Religion. Beacon. Pp.46-80.