Do Bishops Matter? A Cross-Sectional Study of Ordinations to the U.S. Catholic Diocesan Priesthood

Abstract

Previous research into the variation in ordinations across Catholic dioceses has focused on differences in demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, neglecting the characteristics of the bishops of the dioceses. Drawing on theories of motivational leadership from the business management literature, this article explores the role of the bishop in fostering vocations. Making use of annual data on ordinations by diocese for the years 1986-97, this study investigates the extent to which the characteristics of diocesan bishops (specifically, year of ordination to the episcopate and measures of affiliation as a writer with two religious magazines) can explain the variation in ordination rates across dioceses. The chief result of the paper is that the characteristics of the bishop matter for ordination rates, even after controlling for characteristics of the diocese. Year of ordination to the episcopate has a large effect on ordination rates. In addition, theological attitude, as measured by dummy variables for written contributions to two religious magazines, each with very distinct editorial stances, affects ordination rates. The results suggest that the characteristics of the bishop should be included in future work on ordinations.