Research Spotlights Family Issues Among Clergy

PHOENIX -- Research results being released for the first time in the July/August edition of Facts & Trends magazine show that many Protestant ministers in the United States see significant problems within the families of clergy members -- but usually not when it comes to their own families.

The study conducted by Phoenix-based Ellison Research -- was taken among a representative sample of 870 Protestant church ministers nationwide. It asked pastors about the health of their families and the pressures associated with being the family of a minister.

The vast majority of ministers in America are currently on their first marriages (80%). Only 3% have never been married. Fourteen percent have been divorced (12% have since remarried, while 2% remain unmarried), and 3% have been widowed (2% remarried, while 1% remain unmarried).

Just 8% of ministers have no children at all. Half have grown children, but no adolescents; 22% have children under age 18, but not yet any grown children; and 20% have a mixture of adolescents and grown children.

Almost nine out of 10 evangelical ministers are on their first marriages (88%), with 3% widowed, 8% divorced, and only 1% never married. There is more diversity -- and much more divorce -- among mainline Protestant ministers, as 69% are on their first marriage, 7% have never been married, 1% have been widowed, and 23% have gone through a divorce. (Note that the study was conducted among clergy who are currently senior pastors, so these figures would not include those who left the ministry after a divorce or the death of a spouse.)

Fourteen percent of ministers are themselves the child of a minister. Following a parent into the ministry is equally common among mainline and evangelical pastors.

The vast majority of Protestant clergy believe there is additional pressure on pastors' families. Ninety-four percent agree with the statement "There is extra pressure being married to a minister," including 54% who strongly believe this.

Ninety-one percent also agree that "there is extra pressure being the child of a minister," including 46% who feel this way strongly. Lutherans and Presbyterians are considerably less likely to perceive strong pressures on their spouse and children than are pastors from other denominational groups.

Most also feel that "churchgoers often expect pastors' families to be 'better than' other people's families." Eighty-eight percent agree with this, including 34% who feel strongly about it. Southern Baptists and Pentecostals, particularly, feel this kind of pressure on their families.

More complete data from these questions, including denominational details, is available at www.ellisonresearch.com/ERPS%20II/release_17_family.htm.