lergy have historically lived longer than other white-collar professionals, primarily due to less suicide, accidents, and infectious disease. As the health challenge in the United States has shifted to obesity-related chronic disease, clergy have experienced rates of obesity and corresponding chronic disease that are even higher than those of non-clergy. One possible explanation is the interpla...

CONTEXT Although clergy interact with approximately half of U.S. patients facing end-of-life medical decisions, little is known about clergy-congregant interactions or clergy influence on end-of-life decisions. OBJECTIVE The objective was to conduct a nationally representative survey of clergy beliefs and practices. METHODS A mailed survey to a nationally representative sample of clergy com...

CONTEXT Community-based clergy are highly engaged in helping terminally ill patients address spiritual concerns at the end of life (EOL). Despite playing a central role in EOL care, clergy report feeling ill-equipped to spiritually support patients in this context. Significant gaps exist in understanding how clergy beliefs and practices influence EOL care. OBJECTIVES The objective of this stu...

We used self-reported data from United Methodist clergy to assess the prevalence of obesity and having ever been told certain chronic disease diagnoses. Of all actively serving United Methodist clergy in North Carolina (NC) 95% (n = 1726) completed self-report height and weight items and diagnosis questions from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS). We calculated BMI categorie...

BACKGROUND People with serious illness frequently rely on religion/spirituality to cope with their diagnosis, with potentially positive and negative consequences. Clergy are uniquely positioned to help patients consider medical decisions at or near the end of life within a religious/spiritual framework. OBJECTIVE We aimed to examine clergy knowledge of end-of-life (EOL) care and beliefs about...

BACKGROUND Clergy are often important sources of guidance for patients and family members making medical decisions at the end-of-life (EOL). Previous research revealed spiritual support by religious communities led to more aggressive care at the EOL, particularly among minority patients. Understanding this phenomenon is important to help address disparities in EOL care. OBJECTIVE The study ob...

Burnout and engagement in general are thought to be associated mostly with work related factors and sometimes with personal factors as well. Over the past three decades a number of studies among clergy have identified various causes for priests’ susceptibility to burnout and have linked various independent variables in the study of burnout among clergy. However, a study on the association betwe...

OBJECTIVE The clergy in sub-Saharan Africa play a major role in the care and pathways to orthodox mental health services of the mentally ill. Their attitudes concerning mental illnesses would influence community mental health intervention efforts. This study aimed to determine the attitudes of clergy towards persons with mental illness. METHOD A cross-sectional survey of clergy (n = 107) of t...

Using data from the National Survey of Black Americans, this article explores the role of African American ministers in the help seeking of African Americans for serious emotional problems. The authors explore which demographic characteristics and psychosocial factors are related to contacting Black clergy for help, whether certain types of personal problems increase the likelihood of clergy co...