Abstract
The purpose of this study was to describe practices and perceptions related to promoting clergy health among a national sample of denomination-level faith-based organizations (FBOs) (N = 154). Stress was identified as the top health-related issue facing clergy. The most commonly offered health resource was employer-sponsored health insurance. Lack of financial resources was the most common barrier to providing health resources for clergy. This study highlights potential priorities for denomination-level FBOs interested in providing health resources for clergy.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bopp, M., & Fallon, E. A. (2011). Individual and institutional influences on faith-based health and wellness programming. Health Education Research,26(6), 1107–1119.
Bopp, M., & Fallon, E. A. (2013). Health and wellness programming in faith-based organizations: A description of a nationwide sample. Health Promotion Practice,14(1), 122–131.
Bopp, M., Webb, B. L., Baruth, M., & Peterson, J. A. (2013). Clergy perceptions of denominational, doctrine and seminary school support for health and wellness in churches. International Journal of Social Science Studies, 2(1).
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. (2017). Occupational outlook handbook, data for occupations not covered in detail. Retrieved November 3, 2017 from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/about/data-for-occupations-not-covered-in-detail.htm.
Calvert, G., Merling, J., & Burnett, C. (1999). Ischemic heart disease mortality and occupation among 16- to 60-year-old males. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine,41(11), 960–966.
Campbell, M. K., Hudson, M. A., Resnicow, K., Blakeney, N., Paxton, A., & Baskin, M. (2007). Church-based health promotion interventions: Evidence and lessons learned. Annual Review of Public Health, 28, 213–234.
Carroll, J. W. (2006). God’s Potters: Pastoral leadership and the shaping of congregations. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018). National center for chronic disease prevention and health promotion, division of nutrition, physical activity, and obesity. Data, Trend and Maps [online]. Retrieved June 28, 2018 from https://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpao/data-trends-maps/index.html.
Childs, E., & de Wit, H. (2014). Regular exercise is associated with emotional resilience to acute stress in healthy adults. Frontiers in Physiology,5, 161.
Cuijpers, P., Vogelzangs, N., Twisk, J., Kleiboer, A., Li, J., & Penninx, B. W. (2014). Comprehensive meta-analysis of excess mortality in depression in the general community versus patients with specific illnesses. American Journal of Psychiatry,171(4), 453–462.
Dallman, M. F. (2010). Stress-induced obesity and the emotional nervous system. Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism: TEM,21(3), 159–165.
Ferguson, T. W., Andercheck, B., Tom, J. C., Martinez, B. C., & Stroope, S. (2015). Occupational conditions, self-care, and obesity among clergy in the United States. Social Science Research,49, 249–263.
Harris, M. L., Oldmeadow, C., Hure, A., Luu, J., Loxton, D., & Attia, J. (2017). Stress increases the risk of type 2 diabetes onset in women: A 12-year longitudinal study using causal modelling. PLoS ONE,12(2), e0172126.
Jackson-Jordan, E. A. (2013). Clergy burnout and resilience: A review of the literature. Journal of Pastoral Care and Counseling,67(1), 1–5.
Lee, C., & Iverson-Gilbert, J. (2003). Demand, support, and perception in family-related stress among Protestant clergy. Family Relations,52, 249–257.
Lewis, C., Turton, D., & Francis, L. (2007). Clergy work-related psychological health, stress and burnout: An introduction to this special issue of mental health, religion and culture. Mental Health, Religion, and Culture,10(1), 1–8.
Luppino, F. S., de Wit, L. M., Bouvy, P. F., et al. (2010). Overweight, obesity, and depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. Archives of General Psychiatry,67(3), 220–229.
Meng, L., Chen, D., Yang, Y., Zheng, Y., & Hui, R. (2012). Depression increases the risk of hypertension incidence: A meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. Journal of Hypertension,30(5), 842–851.
Morris, M. L., & Blanton, P. W. (1994). Denominational perceptions of stress and the provision of support services for clergy families. Pastoral Psychology,42(5), 345–364.
National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. (1998). Clinical guidelines on the identification, evaluation, and treatment of overweight and obesity in adults: the evidence report. Bethesda: US Department of Health and Human Services.
National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. (2018). What are the risk factors for heart disease? Retrieved August 24, 2018 from https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/hearttruth/lower-risk/risk-factors.htm.
National Institute of Mental Health. (2016). Prevalence of major depressive episode among adults. Retrieved July 27, 2018 from https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/major-depression.shtml.
Peterson, J., Atwood, J. R., & Yates, B. (2002). Key elements for church-based health promotion programs: Outcome-based literature review. Public Health Nursing, 19(6), 401–411.
Pew Research Center. (2008). U.S. religious landscape survey. Religious affiliation: Diverse and dynamic. Washington, DC: Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.
Pew Research Center. (2018). U.S. religious landscape study. Retrieved June 28, 2018 from http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/.
Proeschold-Bell, R. J., & LeGrand, S. (2010). High rates of obesity and chronic disease among United Methodist clergy. Obesity,18(9), 1867–1870.
Proeschold-Bell, R. J., LeGrand, S., Wallace, A., James, J., Moore, H. E., Swift, R., et al. (2012). Tailoring health programming to clergy: Findings from a study of United Methodist clergy in North Carolina. Journal of Prevention and Intervention in the Community,40(3), 246–261.
Proeschold-Bell, R. J., Miles, A., Toth, M., Adams, C., Smith, B., & Toole, D. (2013). Using effort-reward imbalance theory to understand high rates of depression and anxiety among clergy. The Journal of Primary Prevention,34(6), 439–453.
Rosenthal, T., & Alter, A. (2012). Occupational stress and hypertension. Journal of the American Society of Hypertension,6(1), 2–22.
Saczynski, J. S., Beiser, A., Seshadri, S., Auerbach, S., Wolf, P., & Au, R. (2010). Depressive symptoms and risk of dementia; The Framingham Heart Study. Neurology,75(1), 35–41.
Sominsky, L., & Spencer, S. J. (2014). Eating behavior and stress: A pathway to obesity. Frontiers in Psychology,5, 434.
Steptoe, A., & Kivimäki, M. (2013). Stress and cardiovascular disease: An update on current knowledge. Annual Review of Public Health,34, 337–354.
Stults-Kolehmainen, M. A., & Sinha, R. (2014). The effects of stress on physical activity and exercise. Sports Medicine,44(1), 81–121.
Trihub, B. L., McMinn, M. R., Buhrow, W. C., Jr., & Johnson, T. F. (2010). Denominational support for clergy mental health. Journal of Psychology and Theology,38(2), 101–110.
Wallace, A. C., Proeschold-Bell, R. J., Legrand, S., James, J., Swift, R., Toole, D., et al. (2012). Health programming for clergy: An overview of protestant programs in the United States. Pastoral Psychology,61(1), 113–143.
Webb, B., & Bopp, M. (2017). Practicing what they preach? Physical activity promotion practices of clergy. Journal of Physical Activity Research,2(2), 80–84.
Webb, B., Bopp, M., Baruth, M., & Peterson, J. (2016). Health effects of a religious vocation: Perspectives from Christian and Jewish clergy. Journal of Pastoral Care and Counseling,70(4), 266–271.
Webb, B., Bopp, M., & Fallon, E. A. (2013). Factors associated with obesity and health behaviors among clergy. Journal of Health Behavior and Public Health,3(1), 20–28.
Webb, B., & Chase, K. (2018). Occupational distress and health among professional clergy. Pastoral Psychology, 68(3), 331–343.
Wells, C. R. (2013). The effects of work-related and boundary-related stress on the emotional and physical health status of ordained clergy. Pastoral Psychology,62(1), 101–114.
World Health Organization. (2017). Depression and other common mental disorders: Global health estimates. Geneva: World Health Organization.
Zschucke, E., Renneberg, B., Dimeo, F., Wüstenberg, T., & Ströhle, A. (2015). The stress-buffering effect of acute exercise: Evidence for HPA axis negative feedback. Psychoneuroendocrinology,51(Supplement C), 414–425.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Ethical Approval
The present study involves the use of human participants and was approved by The Pennsylvania State University Institutional Review Board, IRB #: STUDY00002791.
Informed Consent
All participants were presented with an informed consent statement and consented to participate in the study.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Webb, B.L., Mama, S.K. The Provision of Clergy Health Resources by Faith-Based Organizations in the USA. J Relig Health 59, 2110–2119 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-019-00963-y
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-019-00963-y