April 16, 2001

Study finds clergy ill-equipped for conflict
___HARTFORD, Conn. (RNS) --Seminaries need to reassess the way they train clergy after a recent survey showed graduates are no better at handling conflict than non-graduates, a seminary president has warned.
___David Greenshaw, president of the United Church of Christ-affiliated Eden Theological Seminary, said the recent "Faith Communities Today" survey should be a "wake-up call" for equipping new clergy with the skills they need.
___The study, released last month by Hartford Seminary, surveyed 260,000 congregations in 41 denominations and is considered the most comprehensive look at U.S. religion. The report found that seminary graduates and clergy with advanced degrees scored lower in both dealing with conflict and having a "clear sense of purpose."
___"Congregations with leaders who have a seminary education are, as a group, far more likely to report that in their congregations they perceive less clarity of purpose, more and different kinds of conflict, less person-to-person communication, less confidence in the future and more threat from changes in worship," the survey concluded.
___Clergy with no ministerial education or a certificate program scored the highest, around 50 percent who "often" or "always" deal well with conflict. Bible college graduates scored slightly less, and clergy with seminary and advanced degree training scored the lowest, at around 40 percent.
___Greenshaw said the findings should cause seminaries to take a hard look at their programs: "If seminaries are truly to serve the church by preparing effective and dynamic leadership for congregations, we dare not ignore this landmark study."

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