How are women faring in ministry in U.S. churches? That is a big question that deserves sustained attention.
One measure of how women are doing is to consider the statistical status of their entry into ministry and leadership in congregations and other ministry settings. A statistical analysis is one dimension of clergywomen’s faring that we have not been able to gauge in a broad way for two decades – when the last comprehensive reports on clergywomen were published.
In October of 2018 we remedied this deficit of information with a new statistical report that includes attention to both ministry and seminary enrollments across a broad number of denominations and traditions.
Here are a few of the insights of the report:
- In 1960 women were 2.3% of U.S. clergy. In 2016 women are 20.7% of U.S. clergy.
- Since 2015 Roman Catholic lay ministers outnumber priests in the U.S., and 80% of them are women.
- In 2017 women remain fewer than 25% of seminary faculty and deans, and just 11% of the presidents.
- In most Mainline denominations, the percentage of clergywomen has doubled or tripled since 1994.
- Unitarian Universalist and United Church of Christ clergywomen have reached numerical equity with clergymen.
- More women of color and fewer white women are going to seminary to earn MDivs since 2008.
If you want to know more, please download the “State of Clergywomen in The United States a Statistical Update” today!
Is this an aspect of U.S. churches that you care about? Please share this link, post the flyer, invite others to sign up, and explore the report when it is ready. Thank you for joining us in sharing the news!
