Religion and Spirituality as
Resources: Working with Religious
Professionals and Organizations
Joyce Ann Mercer, Ph.D., M.S.W., LCSW,
M.Div.
Professor of Practical Theology
Virginia Theological Seminary,
Alexandria, VA
Disclosures of Potential Conflicts
Source
Research
Funding
Employee
Speakers’
Bureau
Books,
Intellectual
Property
In-kind
Services
(example:
travel)
Travel and
expenses
AACAP
Louisville
Institute
Advisor/
Consultant
2 grants
Congreg
ational
studies
Stock or
Equity >
$10,000
Honorarium
or expenses
for this
presentation
or meeting
honorari
um
Learning Objectives:
1. Attendees will become aware of the wide
variety of education, professional backgrounds,
work settings, job descriptions and services
offered by clergy/religious professionals.
1. Attendees will develop appreciation of the
varying degrees of respect and authority
accorded to religious professionals and
institutions by different major world faith
traditions, ethnic groups, and cultural settings.
Learning Objectives, continued
3. Attendees will become familiar with the wide
range of social and support services for children
and families offered through many community
religious organizations.
4. Attendees will learn practical strategies for
increasing collaboration between medical and
mental heal clinicians and clergy and religious
organizations on behalf of children and families.
WHO AND WHAT ARE CLERGY AND
RELIGIOUS PROFESSIONALS?
Religion and Spirituality as Worldview:
• Often connected to
identity, race,
ethnicity
• Narrative
• Belief system includes
practices
Clergy: persons ordained or otherwise
set apart for religious leadership
Education, training, and/or expertise within a
particular faith tradition
Endorsed for leadership by faith community
Authority conferred by religious / ethnoreligious community
Types of Religious Professionals
• Community clergy in congregations, synagogues,
mosques, local houses of worship
• Chaplains in hospitals and other institutions
• Pastoral counselors
• Educators and teachers
Common Terms & Titles:
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•
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•
•
•
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•
•
Rabbi
Priest
Minister
Imam
Pastor
Swami
Guru
Pastoral Counselor
CPE Supervisor
•
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•
•
•
•
•
•
Reverend
Pastor
Father/Mother
Sister/Brother
Elder
Chaplain
Deacon
Cantor
Ritual/Liturgical
Work in nonreligious
settings
Organizational
Work of RELIGIOUS PROFESSIONALS
Counseling
and
Education
Ethnic/Cultura
l Community
Community
Organizing/Advocacy
Clergy in North America
• 600,000 clergy of various Christian
denominations in North America
• 4000 rabbis
• Unknown numbers of Muslim leaders
• Multiple Others: LDS (Mormon), Native
American shaman, Buddhist teachers, Sikh
gurus
Pastoral Counselors/Psychotherapists
• Education and training
• Accreditation, certification, supervision,
continuing education
• Relative strengths and weaknesses
• Attitudes toward psychiatry and medicine
• Pastoral counseling centers and practices
Mental Health and Psychiatric Chaplaincy
• Clinical Pastoral Education programs in
psychiatry
• Greater attention to clergy/patient boundaries
• Discernment of unhealthy/pathological vs.
healthy and adaptive religious/spiritual
thought and practice
RELIGIOUS/ SPIRITUAL
AUTHORITY AND THE CLERGY
OR RELIGIOUS PROFESSIONAL
AUTHORITY
• Important differences among religions,
subgroups, regions
• Ascribed vs. Achieved
• Immigrant and refugee communities
• Hierarchical and Congregational polities
Preparation, Education, Certification of
Religious Professionals:
No single pathway
• Major religions, subgroups within them have
their own requirements
• Also can differ by role, specialization, context
of ministry
Most Common Education and
Credentials
A) 4 year college degree + 3-5 year
graduate professional degree
M.Div. “Master of Divinity”
B) Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE)
C) Ordination requirements
?
No particular
requirements
Extensive graduate
education and
certification
Other common degree programs:
• Doctor of Ministry
(D.Min.)
• University divinity
schools
• Master of Theology (Th.
M/STM )
• Denominational
seminaries
• Master of Sacred Music
• Cooperative consortia
of theology schools
• M. A. in ______ (e.g.,
Jewish Studies)
Graduate Education for Ministry
• 251 accredited schools in North America
(2005 figure)
• 1/3 of seminary students are women
• 2x as many men graduate with M.Div.
• About to see first schools for training imam
• Jewish seminaries—3 major seminaries, many
yeshiva schools
Ordination
• Endorsement by religious community
after process (some= rigorous, others less
so)
• “Ordination exams”
• Conferral of authority (sacramental,
interpretive, etc.) by religious community
• Some religious professionals are not
ordained—different use of term “lay
person”
Specialized training/accreditation
• Chaplains
• Educators
• Pastoral Counselors
• Clinical Pastoral
Education
• AAPC
• AACC
• NACC
• Muslim Chaplaincy
Association
• Dual Degrees
• “Second Career”
Clergy have extensive contact with
distressed people and groups:
• People report 5 x more likely to contact clergy
than all mental health professionals combined
when faced with death of someone close to
them
• Access to everyday lives of families, especially
in transitions (birth, death, job loss, crisis,
adolescence to adulthood)
Help Seeking from Clergy heightened
among:
• Ethnic and racial minority groups
• Rural population
• Some adolescents
How important is religion to people?
Gallup Research: approx. 40% of US population
attends a religious service each week; actual
“attendees” probably closer to 20%
72% of general public respond affirmatively to
“My whole approach to life is based on my
religion.”
Psychologists agree least (33%), followed by
psychiatrists (39%)
As resources in care, clergy have
• Unique access,
involvement in
everyday lives of
people
• Bridge capacities—
cultural, linguistic,
worldview and
meanings accorded
to suffering and
distress
• Wide networks—
access to multiple
groups, concrete
resources & services
• SPECIALIZED
KNOWLEDGE OF
RELIGION(S) AND
RELIGIOUS
PRACTICES
UNDERSTANDING RELIGIOUS
ORGANIZATIONS AND FAITH
COMMUNITIES
Where do religious professionals and
clergy work?
• Most common = leaders of congregations,
synagogues, mosques, “houses of worship”
335,000 Christian congregations in US
3,700 Jewish congregations
1,660 Muslim mosques
2228 Buddhist centers
69 Jain centers
274 Hindu temples/centers
“Pastoral” Role: 5 Functions
1.Healing—promoting resiliency, coping, &
return to wholeness
1.Guiding—helping persons and communities
make difficult decisions
1.Sustaining—support, engaging resources of
faith to deal with suffering
4. Reconciling—encouraging “right relationship”
through practices of forgiveness
• mediating conflict
• promoting community
4. Advocating—assisting persons through
addressing structural & systems issues
• work to overcome inequities, meet needs
• promote justice
Hartford study on congregations in
communities:
Average congregation
has partnerships
with 6 community
organizations
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Money
Volunteers
In-kind donations
Space
Staff time
WHAT CONGREGATIONS OFFER
Advocacy
Direct
service
Self-Help &
Personal
Growth
Education
health,
culture
Community
Develop.
Community Outreach Services
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Senior citizen programs
Prison or jail ministries
Child day care
Substance abuse programs
Literacy and tutoring programs
English as a Second Language (ESL)
Immigrant and migrant support
Community Outreach Services
• Transportation assistance
• Voter registration
• Job training
Medical Services
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Emergency cash assistance
Budgeted contributions
Low cost health clinics
Transportation to and from appointments
Child care during appointments
Parish nursing
Mental Health Services
and Support
• Pastoral counselors and counseling centers
• Twelve Step programs
• Support groups
Culturally based ministries
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Ethnic houses of worship
Language services
Socialization
Acculturation
Miscellaneous
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Athletics
Music, arts, drama
Adoptive-grandparent programs
Vision and hearing impaired
Day camps and summer overnight camps
Elder care and services
Parachurch Organizations
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Youth for Christ
Campus Crusade for Christ
Focus on the Family
Billy Graham Evangelistic Association
World Vision
American Bible Society
Gideons International
Congregations offer resources of
• Religious and spiritual
“capital”
• Cost effective
extensions of care
through concrete
services and supports
• “Social capital”
STRATEGIES FOR COLLABORATION
Past barriers to collaboration
• History of mutual
suspicion: different
epistemologies,
sometimes different
value systems
• Stereotyping/ lack of
respect for
differences
• Not valuing the
resources of
religious traditions
for healing
Primary issue:
Absence of good collegial working
relationships between mental health
professionals and religious
professionals
Current Issues
• HIPAA and privacy concerns
• Immigration issues
• Potential clash of worldviews
• Declining public trust
Reasons to Collaborate
• Religion and spirituality influence the
everyday lives and emotional/psychological
well-being of a large number of people in the
U.S.
• Ethical obligation to provide care in best
interests of clients
• Clergy as gatekeepers
Religion helps alleviate stress, promotes coping:
1. Promotes positive worldview
2. Helps make sense of difficult situations
3. Gives purpose and meaning
4. Discourages maladaptive coping
5. Enhances social support
6. Promotes other-directedness
7. Helps release the need for control
8. Provides and encourages forgiveness
9. Encourages thankfulness
10. Provides hope.
FIVE STRATEGIES FOR COLLABORATION
①CONSULTATION
-with chaplains—bridge people between
health care and community
(Get connected!)
-with community religious leaders in general
(Get information!)
-with a patient’s particular clergy or religious
professional (Get consent!)
② NETWORKING
 Ministerial alliances and Interfaith/ Ecumenical
organizations
 Develop referral networks (clergy,
congregational resources) specific to your patient
population.
 Ask for information about a faith group’s
practices, beliefs, and resources.
③INVOLVEMENT
In spiritual assessment and discharge planning
To provide religious resources in therapeutic
process
Ritual and sacramental
Support- and direct services
On committees and work groups
trauma response teams
 ethics committees
 adolescent suicide prevention task forces
④EDUCATION
Clergy and religious professionals:
+ to recognize/respond to serious mental
health issues in their roles as ‘first point of
contact”
+ to support goals and process of treatment
Mental health professionals :
+ to learn about religion and spirituality
+ to respect and engage persons’ belief
systems in the work of healing
⑤Cultivating Mutual Respect
+acknowledgement and ‘non-violent communication’
+curiosity and openness to different worldviews
+appreciation of particular abilities, education, and/or
authority in community
Context for Current Focus: Common
Ground for Religion and Mental Health
• Mutual concern to ameliorate suffering and
distress
• Interested in promoting health, well-being,
thriving of persons and groups
• Recognition of persons as bio-psycho-socialspiritual calls for collaborative engagement.
Gifts of Religion and Spirituality at their Best
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Meaning
Balance
Vocation/Purpose
Community
Wholeness
Reconciliation
Self-Test Questions
1. The usual title for religious professionals
who are employees of a hospital, prison, or
other institutional setting is:
A. Masjid
B. Chaplain
C. Counselor
D. Professor
2. The most common graduate degree for
clergy education, involving 3-5 years of
study beyond the undergraduate degree,
is the
A.
B.
C.
D.
M.Div. –Master of Divinity
M.Min.—Master of Ministry
Ph.D.—Doctor of Philosophy
M.S.W.—Master of Social Work
3. Community clergy and religious professionals:
A. Undergo a uniform, common credentialing process
across faith traditions.
B. Are required to undergo Clinical Pastoral Education in
psychiatric facilities before ordination therefore they all
know how to recognize mental illnesses.
C. Are respected leaders and spokespersons for their
communities who help facilitate access to mental health
systems.
D. oppose the use of psychiatric medications in favor of
spiritual cures.
4. In what ways are religious congregations a resource
for the health of children and families?
A. They provide financial help if the family already
belongs to the congregation.
B. They can strengthen religious/spiritual supports
for coping with difficulty, along with providing
services such as transportation or emergency
financial assistance.
C. They promote insularity among ethno-religious
groups to keep families separated.
D. They offer promises of a better future and send
children away.
5. One strategy for better
collaboration between child and
adolescent psychiatrists and clergy is:
A. Forming a network of clergy and
religious professionals with whom
to consult.
B. Asking families to give up most of
their religious practices.
C. Avoid talking about differences.
D. None. JCAHO prohibits
collaboration with clergy.
Selected References
Dell, M. L. (2004). Religious Professionals and Institutions:
Untapped Resources for Clinical Care. Child and Adolescent
Psychiatry Clinics of North America, 13(1), 85-110.
Koenig, H. G. (2005). Faith and mental health : religious
resources for healing. Philadelphia: Templeton Foundation
Press.
Vandecreek, L., Carl, D., & Parker, D. (1998). The Role of
Nonparish Clergy in the Mental Health System. In H. G. Koenig
(Ed.), Handbook of Religion and Mental Health (pp. 337-348).
San Diego: Academic Press.
Weaver, A. J., Flannelly, K. J., Flannelly, L. T., & Oppenheimer, J. E.
(2003). Collaboration Between Clergy and Mental Health
Professionals: A Review of Professional Health Care Journals
From 1980-1990. Counseling and Values, 47(April 2003), 162171.
Helpful Websites:
• Hartford Institute for Religion Research
http://hirr.hartsem.edu/
• Faith Communities Today
http://faithcommunitiestoday.org/
• The Pluralism Project (Harvard)
http://pluralism.org/