Clergy Becoming Spiritual but not Religious

Abstract

Changes in beliefs among former clergy, who have now left the ministry, may add an extra dimension to research on church decline. In fact, there are changes in belief among thirty former clergy interviewed for this study that show remarkable similarity to the beliefs of previously interviewed non-religious “spiritual but not religious” (SBNR) persons in the author’s qualitative research, as reported in Belief without Borders: Inside the Minds of the Spiritual but not Religious (Oxford University Press).

Keywords

• former clergy
• theology
• beliefs
• church
• spiritual but not religious
• sbnr