Abstract
This article presents the results of a research study con ducted in Spain, dealing with 115 ex-priests and 115 ex seminarians ; a certain number of priests and specialists have also been interviewed. The ex-priests have been studied either through personal interviews or through the analysis of clinical records with regard to those who have been to psychiatric centers.
The analysis of the results shows four different types among the ex-priests. These types, which essentially confirm the hypotheses of preliminary work, are characterized res pectively by : anomic alienation, anomic routine, marginal position and cultural displacement.
The main part of this article consists of the study of each of these four types. Next the Author tries to give a diagnosis of the present sacerdotal crisis. The construction of a series of scales and the analysis of the variance of the different groups are aimed at discovering the elements which distin guish the priests from the ex-priests, as also those which allow to distinguish between each of these four types of ex-priests.
Finally the author proposes some working hypotheses and suggests several lines of research for later analyses.