Pastoral Burnout: A View from the Seminary

Abstract

Reports on a Pace Study in which 144 seminarians responded to the Holmes-Rahe Stress Scale, a wholistic questionnaire, and other tests measuring both state and trait anxiety. Differences in resident classes are noted, along with anxiety differentials where perceptions of change and Christ consciousness are present or absent. Suggests that the continuous presence of stress in both seminary and parish needs to be addressed in a holistic way, and that the shepherding of pastors by Bishops and the education of seminarians by theological educators need a “doing theology” approach similar to that which has been developed by Clinical Pastoral Education.