Bad Pastors: Clergy Misconduct in Modern America - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0814781470 ISBN 13: 9780814781470

Publisher: NYU Press, 2000

Synopsis

Child-molesting priests, embezzled church treasures, philandering ministers and rabbis, even church-endorsed pyramid schemes that defraud gullible parishioners of millions of dollars: for the past decade, clergy misconduct has seemed continually to be in the news.
Is there something about religious organizations that fosters such misbehavior? Bad Pastors presents a range of new perspectives and solidly grounded data on pastoral abuse, investigating sexual misconduct, financial improprieties, and political and personal abuse of authority. Rather than focusing on individuals who misbehave, the volume investigates whether the foundation for clergy malfeasance is inherent in religious organizations themselves, stemming from hierarchies of power in which trusted leaders have the ability to define reality, control behavior, and even offer or withhold the promise of immortality. Arguing that such phenomena arise out of organizational structures, the contributors do not focus on one particular religion, but rather treat these incidents from an interfaith perspective.
Bad Pastors moves beyond individual case studies to consider a broad range of issues surrounding clergy misconduct, from violence against women to the role of charisma and abuse of power in new religious movements. Highlighting similarities between other forms of abuse, such as domestic violence, the volume helps us to conceptualize and understand clergy misconduct in new ways.

About this title

About the Authors

ANSON SHUPE is Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at the Joint campus of Indiana University and Purdue University in Fort Wayne. He is the author of over two dozen books and numerous professional articles.

WILLIAM A. STACEY is Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for Social Research at the University of Texas at Arlington.
SUSAN E. DARNELL manages a credit union in Gary, Indiana and is a civil rights advocate journalist.

SUSAN E. DARNELL manages a credit union in Gary, Indiana and is a civil rights advocate journalist.

Edition details

• Publisher: NYU Press
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0814781470
• ISBN 13: 9780814781470
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 268
• Editor: Shupe Anson D., Stacey William A., Darnell Susan E.