Clerics who lose their faith

[vorlon13]

Mother of the deceased personally apologized to the friends of her son on behalf of the pastor.

[FlyingNarwhal]

I hadn't thought of the funeral aspect, tbh. I suppose in some ways the thing can become like a PR exercise, marrying and burying people you know aren't believers, just because it's part of the job. Maybe eventually all the enthusiasm disappears and it just becomes a task which you do because you can't do anything else. Sad, really.

That's exactly what I think happens, its really gotta be like any other job plus the religious stuff though. But some people drink the kool aid at their work, others just see the bullshit. I bet there's a lot of priests that see the bullshit, but don't want to rock the boat.

[Diablo]

I used the word cleric as a collective for priests, vicars, imams, rabbis, whatever, those who preach and instruct religion.

There must be some number, maybe a substantial number, who have lost their faith, or part of it at least, and no longer believe what they're preaching. We don't have many of those posting here, I suppose, but I'd be interested to see what their stance is.

The moral position would be to quit and do something else, but after, say, a degree in theology and 20 years in a church you're not exactly going to walk into another job. OK, clerics aren't well paid - apart from US evangelists, I suppose - but still it's a safe job, so what do these people do? Carry on preaching what they now know as lies, or bite the bullet and quit?

Pragmatism versus morality.

Have you heard of The Clergy Project?

"The Clergy Project is a confidential online community for active and former professional clergy/religious leaders who do not hold supernatural beliefs and are struggling with issues."

http://www.clergyproject.org/

I hadn't heard of that: thanks for the link. It seems to address the problems I was thinking about.

There is another issue of course, and that is how these individuals deal with the fact that they are misleading/have misled their congregation for many years. That would be a burden, I'm sure.

[Dystopia]

To answer with more honesty, I think if someone has been working or dedicating his/her life to something it's pretty hard to just change right away. I don't doubt some priests may have started to doubt about Christianity or god existing, but since being a priest is the only way they have of earning something, it's very risky to just quit.

[vorlon13]

I knew someone back in Illinois who while in Catholic seminary had a crisis of faith. He wound up being a Unitarian pastor as a result.

Not saying a career change would be easy, but a long time priest or pastor might have some skill sets desirable in the counseling field, or even business administration of he/she was formerly managing the finances of a large congregation prior to the crisis.

[Dystopia]

I knew someone back in Illinois who while in Catholic seminary had a crisis of faith. He would up being a Unitarian pastor as a result.

Not saying a career change would be easy, but a long time priest or pastor might have some skill sets desirable in the counseling field, or even business administration of he/she was formerly managing the finances of a large congregation prior to the crisis.

True. I sometimes doubt the belief of priests when I notice the paedophilia rates in the catholic church. But I do know a few cool priests who have genuine faith and are open minded.

[ignoramus]

All these people are criminals.
Whether you are poisoning little kid's minds with drugs or words, the damage is real!
And the bastard in the Vatican is the world's biggest mafioso in charge of the biggest crime syndicate ever!
I'd send them all to hell is there was one.

[Mudhammam]

I've been interested in this for a minute... anyone else read it?


"What is it like to be a preacher who can no longer believe the creed? In confidential interviews, clergy reveal how their lives of service are overshadowed by hypocrisy, as they contemplate taking a leap from their faith. As religious leaders struggle to adapt to the new transparency of the information age, the phenomenon of non-believing clergy portends surprising developments in the future of religious belief."
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0615927904..._dsc_books

[John V]

Search here on xpastor and pm him. He never tires of telling his story.

[Thumpalumpacus]

That looks like an interesting read. Dennett's not only a sharp, sharp thinker, he's one hell of a writer.