Beyond the Ordinary

More clergywomen?

By Cynthia Woolever

 

In our second national study of American congregations, we gathered information on the clergy leaders in each congregation. First, we looked at clergy serving as the senior or solo pastor of the local congregation. We found that 100% of the Catholic priests were male (no surprise here) and 100% of the Conservative Protestant pastors were male. But almost three out of ten mainline Protestant ordained clergy serving as senior or solo pastors were females.

If you compare these results with the gender profile of clergy leaders in 2001, nothing has changed much in terms of the leaders’ gender for Catholic parishes and conservative Protestant churches. However, the percentage of women in mainline Protestant church leadership has risen a substantial amount in the last 8 years – from 20% to 28%.

 

 
Are more women serving as associate ministers?

 

Yes! Women are much more likely to be serving in associate clergy roles than in senior/solo positions in mainline Protestant churches. The percentage of women clergy serving in associate positions (43%) is 15 percentage points higher than for women in senior positions (28%). More than 4 out of 10 associate pastors in mainline Protestant churches are currently women. Information was not collected on associate pastors in 2001, so we don’t know if the 43% figure is a change from the past.

 

How would you interpret these findings? Is the glass half-full or half-empty? Certainly, women have made some gains in finding clergy positions in local congregations in mainline Protestant churches. But these gains are limited to those denominations, and the increase is not seen in conservative Protestant churches or Catholic parishes. Other research suggests that women make up at least half of the students in most Protestant seminaries. Will these women eventually seek a pastor position in a local congregation? Or will recent female seminary graduates find places to serve in specialized ministries elsewhere? 

How have worshipers changed since 2001?

By Deborah Bruce

One critical change we found: Worshipers are older. In 2001, the median age of U.S. worshipers was 50. Today it’s 54. In contrast, the median age of the U.S. population is just 44. So worshipers today are—on average—10 years older than the general population in this country.

But the aging of U.S. worshipers didn’t happen evenly across all congregations. The figure compares the percentage of worshipers who are age 65 or older in Catholic parishes, mainline Protestant congregations, and conservative Protestant congregations in 2001 and 2008. Two things jump out at you: (1) Mainline Protestant congregations and Catholic parishes have more worshipers who are 65 or older than do conservative Protestant congregations. (2) The increase in older worshipers is largest in mainline Protestant and Catholic congregations.

These changes might not look very big, but they are meaningful. With information about 300,000 worshipers in 2001 and almost 200,000 in 2008, we’re pretty confident that these are real changes. They also confirm findings from other recent research projects conducted by the National Congregations Study and Faith Communities Today.

Is this trend influencing your congregation? How will your congregation look 10 years from now?

Tracking Congregations and Change in the 21st Century

by Cynthia Woolever

 

Are congregations more effective now than they were 8 years ago?  How do congregations attract new people? What kinds of people attend now? How are congregations changing their worship services and programs?

 

These questions led us to recruit congregations across America to participate in a panel study—the U.S. Congregational Life Survey. A national sample of congregations took part in the survey project in 2001. Everyone fifteen years of age or older filled out a survey during religious services. These congregations were contacted again in 2008 and asked to distribute the worship surveys again. We wanted to find out how these congregations might have changed in four key areas—spirituality and faith development, activities and relationships within the congregation, community involvement, and worshipers’ vision for the congregation’s future.

 

More than 300,000 worshipers in over 2,000 congregations provided a representative profile of worshipers and their congregations. Because the first national survey was conducted in April of 2001, that snapshot of congregational life reflected reality before the historic events of September 11, 2001. Taking another snapshot of these congregations in 2008 gave us the opportunity to look at change at the local level.

 

In 2008, we also recruited another national sample of congregations to take part in this historic effort. These “new” congregations did not take part in our study in 2001. But we knew we could learn something new from them because their worshipers’ experiences add to the total profile of more than 330,000 congregations nationwide.

 

A broad range of congregations and their worshipers are part of this effort to better understand congregational life. Congregations from many denominations and faith groups participated—from Catholic parishes, non-denominational churches, non-Christian groups (such as Mormon churches, Jewish synagogues, Muslim mosques), evangelical Protestant churches, mainline Protestant churches to historically Black denomination churches. 

 

The 2008 survey also involves gathering information from congregational leaders—usually the pastor, minister, rabbi, or priest. We also surveyed the associate pastors in each congregation that had more than one key leader. Information on associate pastors is scarce, and we hope to learn more about how these leaders make congregations more effective.

 

Continue to check this blog for updates on our new findings about congregations, worshipers, and their religious leaders.

Why this blog?

By Deborah Bruce

 

We have lots of information and resources available on our Web site that we’d like to highlight for people interested in congregational life. We also want to be responsive to congregational leaders who have taken the U.S. Congregational Life Survey or who are considering it. This blog will give us a way to draw attention to new findings, point to resources, and keep you updated.

 

It also gives you an opportunity to speak up. Feel free to post a comment—either to respond to our posts, to ask a question, or to let others know of your experience with the U.S. Congregational Life Survey. You can always email us your comments or feedback, too: [email protected]
 
Please stay tuned!