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Clergy

Overview. Religion is very important to millions of Americans. Most religious groups are led by a member of the clergy, also known as clerics. As a result, clerics counsel and assist people during important life events, such as the birth of children, marriage, personal crisis, and death. Although clerics are usually identified with delivering sermons, they spend the majority of their time away from the pulpit, and some clerics do not lead congregations. Some clerics serve as military chaplains or attend to the spiritual needs of people in prison or hospitals. Clerics often spend their nights and weekends officiating at official events or attending to the needs of members of their congregation. Successful clerics are inspiring pubic speakers, but more importantly, effective clerics have the ability to motivate people during crises. During economic recessions, more people will experience adversity. Clerics are not required to have unquestioning religious faith; clerics, just as other religious people, can experience doubt.

Training

Requirements to become a member of the clergy depend on the religious organization. According to the Department of Labor, most religious organizations require potential candidates to receive graduate training while some will choose people who have been “called” to the clergy. Interested individuals should speak to a representative of the organization they would like to serve in, to find out the details for being a cleric.

Median (8 year of experience): $44,900

25-75 percentile (8 years or more of experience): $39,500-71,100