Protestant Clergy as Political Leaders: Theological Limitations

Authors

Ted G. Jelen, University of Nevada, Las VegasFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-1994

Publication Title

Review of Religious Research

Volume

36

Issue

1

First page number:

23

Last page number:

42

Abstract

Eighteen Protestant ministers were interviewed concerning their self-images as political leaders. While members of both traditions believed that politics and religion had considerable areas of overlap, Evangelical and Mainline ministers felt themselves constrained from exerting political leadership by theological considerations. For Evangelical clergy, the content of religious beliefs (with a strong emphasis on individualist theology) constitutes the principal impediment to political socialization, while Mainline ministers are constrained by the style of their theological thinking. Mainline ministers appear reluctant to invoke religious authority to support their political viewpoints. In both cases, ministerial political leadership seems self-limiting.

Keywords

Clergy; Evangelicalism; Political socialization; Protestant churches; Protestant churches--Clergy; Political leadership; Protestants; Religion; Religion and politics

Disciplines

American Politics | Political Science | Religion

Language

English

Permissions

Use Find in Your Library, contact the author, or interlibrary loan to garner a copy of the item. Publisher policy does not allow archiving the final published version. If a post-print (author's peer-reviewed manuscript) is allowed and available, or publisher policy changes, the item will be deposited.

Repository Citation

Jelen, T. G. (1994). Protestant Clergy as Political Leaders: Theological Limitations. Review of Religious Research, 36(1), 23-42.