How Experienced Clergy Consider Offense and Age In Decisions About Restoring Clergy to Ministry Following Clergy-Congregant Sex
In my
previous post (March
30), I looked at the background to the study of clergy sexual abuse along
with some of the data available at the time. In this post, I summarise the results
of an experiment that looked at factors clergy might consider in restoring a
pastor following a sexual offense.
My
colleague and I chose to study a sexual offense because of the widespread
damage it causes to the victims, their families, the congregation, the faith,
and the pastor.
How bad
is the problem?
We found
some relevant studies not included in the previous article.
Pastors who
were victims of childhood sexual abuse were more likely to violate a sexual
boundary with a congregant (Hadman-Cromwell, 1991).
We couldn’t
find a lot about clergy-congregant sex and boundaries at the time. So, we
turned to the helping professions. The ethical codes of conduct were and
continue to be strict regarding prohibitions against clinician-patient sex.
In 2003, Lamb
and others found that 3.5% of psychologists reported a sexual boundary violation
with a client.
Wincze and
others (1996) asked clinicians about treating people who had been sexually
involved with a therapist in the past 3-4 years. One group reported 26% (Rhode Island) and
another 22% (Western Australia). In Rhode Island, 17% involved clergy and in Western Australia, 5% involved clergy.
In 1986, Pope
and others evaluated surveys completed by 585 psychologists—6.5% had a sexual
encounter with a client.
What
happens to the client?
It’s bad.
The effects of clinician-patient sex negatively affects many patients. Reports
include increased depression, suicidal feelings or behaviour, the need for
hospitalization, and wariness about choosing a counsellor.
What
about restoration of offenders?
We did not
find much in the research so we looked at forgiveness studies and the different,
albeit related concept of reconciliation.
Wells
(2003) reported that 74% of respondents to a survey believed sexually offending
clergy should be allowed to return to ministry if they have no access to
victims.
Our
Study
After a trial
of materials and a set of survey questions, we conducted an experiment to learn
how experienced clergy would consider restoration of clergy following a sexual
offense.
Following a
common social psychology method, we constructed realistic scenarios varying two
different factors we thought might affect forgiveness and restoration
decisions. We varied type of relationship (nonsexual romantic vs. sexual) and pastor
age 28 or 42). There were four different scenarios all involving a married male
pastor and a married female congregant.
1. nonsexual
romantic relationship, pastor age 28
2.
nonsexual romantic relationship, pastor age 42
3. sexual
relationship, pastor age 28
4. sexual
relationship, pastor age 42
The
participants
58
evangelical male pastors
Mostly of
European descent (88.7%)
Most pastors
were in their middle years and most had an undergraduate degree.
Most had
more than 20 years of experience; our cut-off was at least 5-years of experience
The procedure
Emails
contained a link to a webpage. Those connecting to the study were randomly
assigned by the software to one of the four scenarios.
The survey
measures of restoration
A global
rating of
Restoration to ministry
Restoration to spouse
Likert-type
scales
Restoration
to public ministry
Restoration
to spouse
The
results
You can see
the means and standard deviations in Table 1 of the article (page 593).
We used a 2
x 2 MANCOVA with participant age as a covariate.
Experienced
pastors believed a successful restoration to public ministry more likely for
the younger pastor than the middle-aged one.
(For statistical terms, see the glossary of Statistical Concepts and Principles)
Another study
We repeated
study 2 at a clergy retreat but we only had a small sample. The results were
similar—restoration for the younger pastor was viewed as likely more successful
than for the middle-aged pastor.
Overall
and So What
For experienced
pastors completing the study, the age of the pastor committing a sexual offense
was a factor in restoring him to ministry.
The pastor’s
age in the scenario did not make a difference when the relationship was phrased
as “nonsexual romantic.”
The experienced
pastors completing the study also considered the younger pastor in the scenario
would have a better chance at a restored relationship than the older pastor.
We didn’t
put this in the article, but it looks like a possible “boys will be boys” attitude.
That is, the younger pastor gets some slack when it comes to sexual misconduct.
Perhaps it is just the idea that younger people can learn from experience. In
real life, there will be other factors to consider when it comes to restoring
abusive clergy. One study is never enough to consider all important factors. More
on this in other studies.
If the
available data are accurate, the helping professionals present less risk than
do professional clergymen.
From the
perspective of the #metoo movement, the male clergyman in the scenarios
sexually assaulted the married woman. He is the professional authority figure who
is reasonably expected to develop and maintain firm boundaries when it comes to
interacting with congregants who are always in a vulnerable position with
respect to clergy.
Recommendations considering
the literature review and the study:
1. All clergy
should be carefully screened for previous sexual abuse and boundary violations
before entering the ministry.
2. All
clergy who supervise other clergy ought to have coursework and supervised experience
in helping clergy maintain accountability and strong pastor-congregant sexual boundaries.
3. Clergy education
should consider their beliefs about age as a factor in restoring a pastor to ministry.
No one factor should be decisional.
Three
Related Books
Parts of
these books deal with matters of sexual abuse, treatment, and considerations of
forgiveness, reconciliation, and restoration. Free samples and reviews or
recommendations from others can help decide if they help with your own study of
these concerns.
Mittelstadt, M. & G. W. Sutton (eds.) (2010) Forgiveness, reconciliation, and
restoration: Multidisciplinary studies from a Pentecostal perspective.
Eugene, OR: Pickwick
Publications. ISBN: 9781608991945 AMAZON
Sutton, G. W. (2021). Counseling and psychotherapy with
Pentecostal and Charismatic Christians: Culture & Research | Assessment
& Practice. Springfield, MO: Sunflower.
ISBN-13 : 979-8681036524 AMAZON
Sutton, G. W. (2016). A
House Divided: Sexuality, morality, and Christian cultures. Eugene, OR:
Pickwick. ISBN: 9781498224888 AMAZON
Key
concepts and words
Forgiveness
and restoration
Clergy
sexual abuse, clergy sexual harassment, clergy sexual boundary violations,
clergy adultery, clergy affairs
Congregants
as victims
Evangelical clergy, Pentecostal clergy
References
Conlin, S.
C. (2001). Seminary sexuality education survey: Current efforts, perceived need
and readiness in accredited Christian institutions. Journal of Sex Education
and Therapy, 26, 301–309.
Hadman-Cromwell,
Y. C. (1991). Sexual misconduct by clergy. Journal of Religious Thought, 48,
64–72.
Lamb, D. H., & Catanzaro, S. J. (1998). Sexual and
nonsexual boundary violations involving psychologists, clients, supervisees,
and students: Implications for professional practice. Professional Psychology:
Research and Practice, 29, 498–503.
Pope, K. S. (1988). How clients are harmed by sexual contact
with mental health professionals: The syndrome and its prevalence. Journal
of Counseling and Development, 67, 222–226.
Pope, K. S., Keith-Spiegel, P., & Tabachnick, B. G.
(1986). Sexual attraction to clients: The human therapist and the (sometimes)
inhuman training system. American Psychologist, 41, 147–158.
Sutton, G.W., & Thomas, E. K. (2005). Can derailed pastors be restored? Effects of offense and age on restoration. Pastoral Psychology, 53, 583-599.
Wells, K. (2003). A needs assessment regarding the nature
and impact of clergy sexual abuse conducted by the Interfaith Sexual Trauma
Institute. Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity, 10, 201–217.
Wincze, J. P., Richards, J., Parsons, J., & Bailey, S.
(1996). A comparative survey of therapist sexual misconduct between an American
state and an Australian state. Professional Psychology: Research and
Practice, 27, 289–294.
Please check out my website www.suttong.com
and see my books on AMAZON or GOOGLE
STORE
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consider connecting with me on FACEBOOK Geoff W. Sutton
TWITTER @Geoff.W.Sutton
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Geoffrey
W Sutton
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