Conservatism, Prayer, and Flourishing Among Catholic Priests

Abstract

The literature on well-being and religiosity is extensive, but the research on well-being and religiosity among clergy in particular is less developed. Additionally, little research has investigated the role of theological orientation in well-being. This brief research note investigates the interrelationships among well-being (as measured by the Harvard Flourishing Index), theological orientation (as measured by self-identified level of theological liberalism/conservatism), and prayer in a sample of ∼2,980 Roman Catholic priests. Prayer has a robust, independent, and significant relationship with flourishing across all subscales. Overall theologically conservative priests report higher flourishing, but some of this relationship is due to higher prayer. While copious prior literature has examined associations between well-being and religiosity, this study shows that some of these same patterns and themes extend even to professional clergy. Clinically speaking, it also brings attention to the particular stressors faced by liberal or less practicing clergy in a predominantly conservative religious tradition and the potential role that prayer can play in clergy well-being.