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Clergy: Priest, Rabbi, Minister, Imam

Historically, the number of professions was limited: members of the clergy, medical doctors, and lawyers held the monopoly on professional status and on professional education, with military officers occasionally recognised as social equals. Self-governing bodies such as guilds or colleges, backed by state-granted charters guaranteeing monopolies, limited access to and behaviour within such professions.

With the rise of technology and occupational specialisation in the 19th century, other bodies began to claim "professional" status: engineers, paramedics, educationalists and even accountants, until today almost any occupational group can - at least unofficially - aspire to professional rank and cachet, and popular recognition of this trend has made possible the widespread recognition of prostitution as "the oldest profession".

Members of the clergy typically work long and irregular hours. Those who do not work in congregational settings may have more routine schedules. In 1998, almost one-fifth of full-time clergy worked 60 or more hours a week, 3 times that of all workers in professional specialty occupations. Although many of their activities are sedentary and intellectual in nature, clergy frequently are called upon on short notice to visit the sick, comfort the dying and their families, and provide counseling to those in need. Involvement in community, administrative, and educational activities sometimes require clergy to work evenings, early mornings, holidays, and weekends. Because of their roles as leaders regarding spiritual and morality issues, some members of the clergy often feel obligated to address and resolve both societal problems and the personal problems of their congregants, which can lead to stress.

Three couples want to be married in a prestigious church. In order to do this, the minister explains, they must abstain from sex for 30 days and then report back to him. Thiry days later, the first couple shows up and the preacher asks them how it went. “Well, it was tough, but we really want this, so we made it.” “Great, see my secretary and she will set chapel reservations for you.” The second couple comes in shortly after that and says, “We had a real hard time but…we did it.” “Great, see my secretary,” says the preacher. Then the third couple comes in and the minister asks them how it went. The man says, “It was really tough. We made it until day 28, and then…well, she dropped a can of corn on the floor, bent over to pick it up, she was wearing a mini skirt and no panties, and I couldn’t help it. I nailed her right there.” “You realize you are not allowed to get married in this church now, right?” the minister asks. “Yeah,” the man replies. “That’s OK. We’re not allowed to shop at that Safeway anymore either.” Two Irishmen are sitting at a pub having a beer when they see a Baptist minister walk into the brothel across the street. One of them says, “Aye, ’tis a shame to see a man of the cloth goin’ bad.” Moments later they see a rabbi enter the brothel, and the other Irishman says, “Aye, ’tis a shame to see that the Jews are fallin’ victim to temptation as well.” Finally they see a Catholic priest enter the house of ill repute, and the first Irishman grimaces and says, “What a terrible pity…one of the girls must be quite ill.” A pompous minister was seated next to a hillbilly on a flight across the country. After the plane was airborne, drink orders were taken. The hillbilly asked for a whiskey and soda. The flight attendant then asked the minister if he would like a drink. He replied in disgust, "I'd rather be savagely raped by brazen whores than let liquor touch these lips." The hillbilly then handed his drink back to the flight attendant and said, "Shit, me too. I didn't know we had a choice." Father Norton wakes up to a beautiful and sunny Sunday morning and decides he just has to play golf. He pretends he’s sick and convinces the associate pastor to say Mass for him that day, then heads out of town to a golf course about 40 miles away so he won’t run into anyone from his parish. On the first tee, he sees that he has the entire course to himself—everyone else is in church! Watching all this from the heavens, Saint Peter leans over to the Lord and asks, "Are you going to let him get away with this?" Just then Father Norton hits the ball and it heads straight for the pin, dropping just short of it, rolls up and falls into the hole-a 420 yard hole in one! Astonished, St. Peter looks at the Lord and asks, "Why in Heaven did you let him do that?" The Lord smiles and replies, "Who’s he going to tell?"

Clergy are responsible for the religious education, spiritual guidance, and moral counseling of the members of their faith. Many members of the clergy seem uncomfortable calling their jobs careers or professions; they became members of the clergy in response to a calling to the occupation. This sense of divine request supports the clergy member through long hours, low pay, hierarchical politics, and at times, weak congregational support for their own ministries. “You have to be very confident that you are doing the right thing, because when you’re preaching to one or two people in the whole church, there’s not a lot of positive feedback,” wrote one Protestant minister.

There is a demoralizing aspect of sporadic attendance in church or synagogue, “We are not the focus of what we do. Our community is the focus, and how they are doing is how we judge ourselves.” This is not a job for those whose only desire is to help others; clergy often run large organizations and need the willingness and skills to do so. Office and administrative responsibilities, fund-raising, and writing and delivering sermons are important parts of the job.

Clergy must be able to get along with all factions of their congregation. Frequently, clergy members will specialize in one aspect of the profession, such as sermonizing or fundraising, and delegate other aspects of the job to more junior professionals. Being organized and attentive to detail helps in managing administrative tasks while keeping “doctor’s hours: We’re always on call.”

Additionally, strong communication skills, patience, intellect, and dedication are required. There was the sense of excitement and extreme satisfaction that the clergy felt toward their occupation. The religious community is a growing, vibrant arena in which the free exchange of opinions and ideas and the chance to make real, spiritual insight become possible. “The feeling I get every day,” wrote one Presbyterian minister, “is that I’m a witness to everything wonderful about people.”

Judaism has been in existence for roughly 4,000 years, and Christianity for about 2,000. While keeping a core set of beliefs intact, these two religions have been in a continuous state of revision and evolution. In general terms, Christians (including Catholics and Protestants) and Jews believe in the sanctity of the Old Testament. Christians believe that Jesus was the Messiah or the son of God and follow the teachings presented in the New Testament. Catholics and Protestants split during the Reformation when Martin Luther put up his 95 theses in protest (hence the protestants) against the abuses of the Catholic Church. Islam can be traced back to the seventh-century Arabia with the emergence of the prophet Muhammad. Muslims believe that during the year 610,Muhammad, while praying in a cave near Mecca, experienced a vision that he later described as a visit from the angel Gabriel. Gabriel informed him that he was the last of the prophets and commanded Muhammad to memorize and recite verses sent by God. These verses were later collected and form the basis of the Quar’an. The major world religions face the same challenges today that they have always faced: providing each of their believers with moral guidance and educating their adherents. Now, religions must also prove themselves relevant in a chaotic and demanding world. But religion has been around for a very long time, and the demand for new clergy members should remain steady.

Religion anchors millions of Americans' lives, and their clergy is their ship's captain. That's especially true at life's critical moments: birth, coming of age, marriage, crisis, and death. Most clerics spend far more work hours off the pulpit than on. And not all clerics have a congregation. Some, for example, are chaplains in prisons, hospitals, or the armed forces. Being a cleric isn't a job—it's a life. Your nights and weekends are often spent officiating at events or ministering to parishioners in crisis. To succeed, yes, you must be an inspiring speaker, but you should also be an inspiring human being—able to motivate people to be their best selves, even in crisis. Surprisingly, what isn't required is an unquestioning faith in God. Many clerics experience periods of doubt.

Requirements concerning training vary widely according to denomination. According to the Department of Labor, many denominations require graduate training while others "will admit anyone who has been 'called' to the vocation." To learn what's likely to be required, speak with a respected person of your faith. Many Protestant churches require their ministers to complete a three-year graduate degree; rabbis complete a course of study lasting four to five years in a Jewish theological seminary; training for the Catholic priesthood usually entails four years of study beyond college at a Catholic seminary. Training tends to include some form of study in homiletics (preaching), history, religious laws, counseling, and the practical aspects of ministering to a congregation. The median pay is $53,700 but varies by area.

A chaplain is typically a priest, pastor, ordained deacon or other member of the clergy serving a group of people who are not organized as a mission or church, or who are unable to attend church for various reasons; such as health, confinement, or military or civil duties; lay chaplains are also found in other settings such as universities. For example a chaplain is often attached to a military unit (often known as padre), a private chapel, a ship, a prison, a hospital, a high school, college or especially boarding school, even a parliamentary assembly and so on. In recent years many non-ordained persons have received professional training in chaplaincy and are now appointed as chaplains in schools, hospitals, universities, prisons and elsewhere to work alongside or instead of ordained chaplains.

People who leave the clergy do so for a variety of reasons: dissatisfaction with their advancement, a loss of the sense of calling, or the general difficulty of dealing with the downsides of the human condition. When they leave, many continue to apply their ministering skills and become social workers, vocational guidance counselors, psychologists, teachers, and substance abuse counselors. Some people return to school for advanced degrees in fields such as psychology, philosophy, comparative religion, and medicine.

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