"By the numbers: U.S. Master of Divinity enrollment at accredited schools under the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) fell 14% from 2020 to 2024. State of play: Churches are trying to fill pulpits as older clergy retire, congregations shrink and burnout rises."
"More than 4 in 10 clergy surveyed in fall 2023 said they had seriously considered leaving their congregations since 2020, per Hartford Institute data reported by The Associated Press. The leadership crunch comes as the U.S. saw 15,000 churches close last year and as a record 29% of Americans now identify as religiously unaffiliated."
"Zoom in: Rural churches are hit first because many already share pastors, rely on part-time clergy or ask one minister to cover multiple congregations. When those churches close, towns can lose informal hubs for food aid, child care, disaster relief and elder care."
"The Diocese also said in a statement it's struggled to recruit priests and has faced an "all-time low of priests assigned to our 80 parishes." What they're saying: The drop is part ofthe "decline of Protestantism in the U.S. Catholicism is pretty much in the same boat," Eileen Campbell-Reed, author of " Pastoral Imagination: Bringing the Practice of Ministry to Life," and a research professor at Vanderbilt Divinity School, tells Axios."
Master of Divinity enrollment at accredited schools under the Association of Theological Schools fell 14% from 2020 to 2024. Churches are struggling to fill pulpits as older clergy retire, congregations shrink, and burnout rises. More than 4 in 10 clergy surveyed in fall 2023 said they seriously considered leaving their congregations since 2020. The U.S. saw 15,000 churches close last year, while 29% of Americans identify as religiously unaffiliated. Rural churches are hit first through shared pastors, part-time clergy, and ministers covering multiple congregations. Closures can remove local hubs for food aid, child care, disaster relief, and elder care. Black churches and Catholic parishes also face disproportionate impacts, including reduced public-health and community-service capacity. The Diocese of Oakland announced plans to close 13 churches due to financial struggles, declining parishioners, and an all-time low of priests assigned to its parishes.
#clergy-shortages #seminary-enrollment #church-closures #rural-churches #religious-affiliation-decline
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