Clergy

Career Overview

Clergy members lead religious services, provide spiritual guidance, teach, counsel, and support people through important life events. They may also organize community programs, provide humanitarian support, and help manage the operations of a religious organization.

Education

Education requirements vary by faith and role. A college or university program in Religious Studies, Theology, or a related field is commonly required, and some roles require a Master of Divinity or Theology. Training or mentorship with an experienced religious leader is also common.

Work Environment

Clergy work in places of worship, as well as schools, hospitals, correctional facilities, military settings, and community organizations. The work involves speaking, teaching, counselling, organizing programs, and working closely with people. Evenings, weekends, and holidays are often part of the schedule.

Future Outlook

Opportunities vary among faith communities and types of religious organizations. Clergy who combine traditional leadership with strong communication, community outreach, counselling, and digital skills can serve their communities in new ways.

Recommended High School Courses

Psychology
Business
Communication
History
Sociology
English
Religious Studies

Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Management of Material Resources - Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
Management of Personnel Resources - Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Negotiation - Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Systems Analysis - Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Systems Evaluation - Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.
Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Far Vision - The ability to see details at a distance.
Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Memorization - The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.
Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Selective Attention - The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Time Sharing - The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Lead classes or community events.
Develop educational programs.
Counsel clients or patients regarding personal issues.
Develop promotional strategies for religious organizations.
Visit individuals in their homes to provide support or information.
Interpret cultural or religious information for others.
Train staff members in social services skills.
Intervene in crisis situations to assist clients.
Manage organizational or program finances.
Refer clients to community or social service programs.
Plan conferences, programs, or special events.

Schools

Alvernia University

Anna Maria College

Asbury University

Assumption College

Ave Maria University

Barry University

Belmont University

Bethel University

Bethel University (indian...

Biola University

Boston College

Boston University

Brescia University

California Lutheran Unive...

Campellsville University

Central Christian College...

College Of Saint Elizabet...

College Of St. Benedict A...

Colorado Christian Univer...

Columbia International Un...

Concordia University- Irv...

Corban University

Dallas Baptist University

Duke University

Gonzaga University

Harvard University

Hope International Univer...

Indiana Wesleyan Universi...

Judson University

Kansas Christian College

Lee University

Liberty University

Loyola University - Chica...

Lubbock Christian Univers...

Madonna University

Marquette University

Mercer University

Moravian College

Newman University

North Greenville Universi...

Northwest Nazarene Univer...

Nyack College

Ohio Christian University

Oklahoma Christian Univer...

Oral Roberts University

Pepperdine University

Pfeiffer University

Providence College

Regent University

Roberts Wesleyan College

Rochester University

Saint Anselm College

Saint Mary-of-the-woods C...

Southeastern University

Southern Baptist Theologi...

Southwestern Assemblies O...

Southwestern Christian Un...

St. Catherine University

Stonehill College

Tabor College

The King's University- So...

Truett Mcconnell Universi...

University Of Chicago

University Of Dallas

University Of Dayton

University Of Northwester...

University Of Notre Dame

University Of St. Thomas

University Of Valley Forg...

Ursuline College

Walsh University

Warner University

Wayland Baptist Universit...

Wheaton College- Illinois...

Xavier University

Yale University

Acadia Divinity Colleg...

Acadia University

Acts Seminaries

Alberta Bible College

Ambrose University

Atlantic School Of The...

Booth University Colle...

Briercrest College And...

Canadian Mennonite Uni...

Canadian Southern Bapt...

Emmanuel College

Eston College

Horizon College & Semi...

Huntington University

Huron University Colle...

Knox College

Lakehead University- O...

Lutheran Theological S...

Maritime Christian Col...

Mb Biblical Seminary

Mcmaster Divinity Coll...

Newman Theological Col...

Providence College And...

Redeemer University Co...

Regent College

Regis College

Saint Mary's Universit...

Seminary Of Christ The...

St. Mary's University

St. Stephen's Universi...

Taylor College & Semin...

Trinity Western Univer...

Tyndale University

University Of Winnipeg

Vancouver School Of Th...

Wilfred Laurier Univer...

USA

Canada

Potential Scholarships

5 Strong Scholarship

Agnes M. Lindsay Scholars...

Approx Salary Expectation

Low End:

$38,000.00 /yr

Avg/Med:

$61,000.00 /yr

High End:

$99,000.00 /yr

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References

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/.
Trend Analysis - Explorer the Market, Labour Market Information, Government of Canada https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/trend-analysis.
PayScale, Inc., https://www.payscale.com/.
O*NET OnLine, National Center for O*NET Development, https://www.onetonline.org/.