Organizational Context and the Sexual Harassment of Clergy*

Abstract

When the term sexual harassment is used is association with the clergy, the common assumption is that it is sexual abuse by the clergy which is being discussed. This assumption tends to obscure another serious issue that has received little scholarly attention-the sexual harassment of clergy by church members and colleagues in ministry. This study investigates both the factors that contribute to the chances of clergy experiencing harassment, and the impact of abuse on clergy work outcomes. Because there is so little research on the sexual harassment of clergy, the more general literature on sexual harassment in the workplace (from organizational and sociology of work research) must be relied on in framing the study. A unified approach is used, which suggests that features of modern organizational structures which are known to increase satisfaction will help to create a supportive cli mate in the workplace that will reduce the likelihood of incidents of harassment. Support is found for the value of organizational context as a means of explaining both the causes and outcomes of clergy experiences of harassment. When the term sexual harassment is used in association with the clergy, the common assumption is that it is sexual harassment by the clergy which is being discussed. This assumption tends to obscure another serious issue that has received little scholarly attention-the sexual harassment of clergy by church members and colleagues in ministry. Studies have found that fairly high numbers of female Anglican priests, Catholic sisters, Methodist clergywomen, and women rabbis report workplace sexual harassment (American Jewish Congress 1993; Chibnall, et al. 1998; Majka 1990). This study focuses on the sexual harassment experiences of a subset of religious professionals, mainline Protestant clergy. Since harassment has been found in many studies to reduce worker satisfaction and attachment and to increase levels of stress and turnover (see Crull 1982;