• Skip to main content
  • Skip to main navigation
Baylor University
Diana R. Garland School of Social Work
  • About Us
    • At a Glance
      • Our History
      • Program Evaluation
      • The Waco Area
    • Office of the Dean
      • Leadership
      • Board of Advocates
    • Faculty Directory
    • Adjunct Faculty Directory
    • Staff Directory
    • Contact Us
    • GSSW News & More
      • GSSW Social Media
      • News
      • Desk of the Dean Newsletter
      • #BaylorProud
      • Media inquiries
    • Faculty/Staff Resources
    • School Calendar
  • Admissions
    • What is Social Work?
      • Career Success in the Field of Social Work
      • Social Work Core Values and Code of Ethics
      • Our Mental Health Focus in Social Work
    • Why the Garland School?
    • Advocacy in Action Blog
    • Minors & Electives
    • Bachelor of Social Work
      • Entry into the Major
      • BSW Degree Requirements
      • BSW Financial Aid
      • BSW Practicum Education
      • BSW: Alumni Spotlight
      • Minors
      • FAQ - BSW
    • Master of Social Work Waco
      • How to Apply - Residential MSW
      • MSW Financial Aid
      • MSW Specializations
      • MSW Concentrations
      • MSW Curriculum
      • MSW Dual Degrees
      • MSW Practicum Education
      • MSW Webinars
      • GSSW MSW Alumni Spotlight
      • FAQ - MSW
    • Online Master of Social Work
      • What is Social Work?
      • How to Apply - Online MSW
      • Standard Online MSW Program
      • Advanced Standing Online MSW Program
      • Online MSW Tuition & Aid
      • Online MSW Webinars
      • Clinical Practice Specialization
      • Community Practice Specialization
      • Concentrations
      • Spotlight
      • Online MSW FAQ
    • PhD in Social Work
      • How to Apply
      • Financial Aid
      • Program of Study
      • Doctoral Faculty Research Interests
      • FAQ - PhD
      • Request Info - PhD
    • Global Mission Leadership
      • Scholarship Components
      • GML Scholars Past and Present
      • How to Apply
      • Give to GML
    • Practicum Education
      • Practicum Team
    • Integrated Behavioral Health Certificate
    • Visit Us
      • Green Visit
      • Maps, parking and directions
      • Contact Us
  • Research & Impact
    • Research Activities
      • Research focus areas
      • Active funded projects
      • Faculty projects
      • Publications & Presentations
    • Research News
    • Center for Church & Community Impact (C3i)
      • What we do
      • How we do it
      • Meet the C3I team
      • Trauma-Sensitive Congregations
      • LGBTQ+ Discernment Guide
      • Peer-Learning Cohorts: Building Resilient Congregations
      • C3I In the News
      • Congregational Social Work
    • Social Work in Primary Care Training Program
      • Integrated Behavioral Health Certificate Program
      • Primary Care Clinical Social Work Fellowship Program
    • Faculty-Authored Books
    • Current Research Assistants
  • Values & Virtues
    • Values and Virtues in Action
      • Selected Assessments and Implementation Efforts
    • Definitions and Approaches
    • Opportunities and Celebrations
    • So Far, So Good Podcast
    • Resources
      • Christianity & LGBTQ+ Persons - Justin Lee Lecture
      • Spanish fluency resources
  • Connect
    • Connecting With Care Podcast
      • Trailer
    • Give
    • Alumni Resources
      • PhD-Community Connections
      • Alumni News - Class Notes
    • Baylor University Career Center
      • Job Search Resources
      • Licensure Information
    • Continuing Education
      • Dyer Ethics Workshop 2024
      • Guardianship Certificate
    • Become an Internship Supervisor
    • Become an Internship Placement Site
    • Current Internship Supervisors
      • Current Internship Supervisor Benefits
      • Online: Internship Calendar
      • Waco: Internship Calendar
      • Current Internship Supervisor Resources
      • Practicum Education Manual - Waco
      • Practicum Education Manual - Online
      • Orientation
    • Post a Job Opportunity
    • Social Work Career Opportunities
    • Community Connection Magazine
  • Current Students
    • BSW
      • BSW Degree Requirements
      • BSW Financial Aid
      • BSW Advising
      • BSW Student Handbook 2024-25
      • Student organizations
      • Academic Actions
      • BSW Pass/Fail FAQ's
    • MSW
      • Waco Program
      • Online Program
    • PhD
      • Current PhD Students
      • PhD-Community Connections
    • Resources, events and traditions
    • Career services
    • Practicum Education for Current Students
      • Waco: BSW & MSW
      • Online: MSW
    • Student Development
      • Committee Members
      • GSSW Committees: Student Representation
      • Student Awards
      • Travel Scholarships
  • Apply
  • Make a Gift
Baylor BU Home
Executive summary

Executive summary

The Prevalence of Clergy Sexual Misconduct with Adults: A Research Study—Executive Summary

Diana R. Garland*

This research study involved two companion projects: (1) a national random survey to determine the prevalence of clergy sexual misconduct (CSM) with adults; and (2) a qualitative study of three groups of women and men: (a) those who self-identified as survivors who had been the objects of CSM, (b) family or friends of survivors, and (c) offenders who had themselves committed CSM. The goal of both projects was to define the scope and nature of CSM, so that effective prevention strategies can be proposed for the protection of religious leaders and congregants.

General Statistics of the Research:

  • national, random survey conducted in 2008 with 3,559 respondents

  • phone interviews with 46 persons who had experienced clergy sexual misconduct as adults, representing 17 different Christian and Jewish religious affiliations

  • phone interviews with 15 persons who were second-hand victims of CSM (husbands, friends and other church staff members); and with 21 experts (non-offending religious leaders, researchers, and professionals who provide care for survivors and offenders)

The Prevalence of CSM

We used the 2008 General Social Survey (GSS) to estimate the prevalence of clergy sexual misconduct. This is an in-person survey of a nationally representative sample of noninstitutionalized English- or Spanish-speaking adults, conducted by National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. The 2008 survey included 3559 respondents. Although the GSS is an in-person interview, the questions we developed specifically for this project were self-administered, making it easier for respondents to report potentially painful or embarrassing experiences.

Clergy sexual misconduct was defined in this study as:

Ministers, priests, rabbis, or other clergypersons or religious leaders who make sexual advances or propositions to persons in the congregations they serve who are not their spouses or significant others.

Of those surveyed:

  • More than 3% of women who had attended a congregation in the past month reported that they had been the object of CSM at some time in their adult lives;

  • 92% of these sexual advances had been made in secret, not in open dating relationships; and

  • 67% of the offenders were married to someone else at the time of the advance.

  • In the average American congregation of 400 persons, with women representing, on average, 60% of the congregation, there are, on average of 7 women who have experienced clergy sexual misconduct.

  • Of the entire sample, 8% report having known about CSM occurring in a congregation they have attended. Therefore, in the average American congregation of 400 congregants, there are, on average, 32 persons who have experienced CSM in their community of faith.

Of course, CSM does not occur evenly across congregations, but these statistics demonstrate the widespread nature of CSM and refutes the commonly held belief that it is a case of a few charismatic and powerful leaders preying on vulnerable followers. In the nonrandom qualitative study that occurred concurrently with the survey, survivors hailed from 17 different Christian and Jewish affiliations: Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, Seventh Day Adventist, Disciples of Christ, Latter Day Saints, Apostolic, Calvary Chapel, Christian Science, Church of Christ, Episcopal, Friends (Quaker), Mennonite, Evangelical, Nondenominational (Christian), and Reform Judaism.

How CSM Happens

In the second phase of the project, we analyzed phone interviews with 46 persons who as adults had experienced a sexual encounter or relationship with a religious leader. We also interviewed 15 others who had experienced the effects of those sexual encounters (husbands, friends and other staff members in the congregation), as well as two offending leaders. We identified subjects for this study using networks of professionals, web sites, and media stories about the project. Most of the offenders of the interview subjects were male, but two were female. Considering that most religious leaders are male, it is significant that we found both male and female offenders, and offenders who committed heterosexual, gay and lesbian sexual misbehavior.

We used the software package Atlas-Ti to code the interview transcripts and then to identify six common themes that describe the social characteristics of the congregations in which clergy sexual misconduct (CSM) occurs. Those themes include:

  1. Family members, friends, and victims ignored warning signs. Religious leaders acted inappropriately in public as well as private settings, but in a culture that has no cognitive categories for understanding or explaining clergy misconduct as anything other than an affair, observers mistrusted their own judgment, perhaps considering themselves hypersensitive, particularly since the behavior was committed by a trusted leader. First indicators of CSM were thus ignored.

  2. Niceness culture: American culture expects persons to be nice to one another, particularly those we know and respect, and particularly in a congregation. Nice means not being confrontational, giving the other the benefit of the doubt, and overlooking social indiscretions in order to avoid embarrassment. Even when family members, friends, and victims knew about or suspected CSM or behavior leading to CSM, they did not speak about their observations.

  3. Ease of private communication: E-mail and cell phones have replaced mailed letters and phone calls to the family household. An intimate relationship between leader and congregant can develop via e-mail and cell phones with complete invisibility to family and community.

  4. No oversight: Religious leaders often answer to no one about their daily activities and are free to move about the community and to maintain an office that is isolated from observation.

  5. Multiple roles: Religious leaders engage in multiple roles with congregants in addition to their role as leader, including counselor and personal friend. They obtain knowledge about congregants personal lives and struggles that can make the congregant vulnerable and dependent.

  6. Trust in the sanctuary: Congregations are considered sanctuaries safe places where normal attentiveness to self-protection is not considered necessary. Because of this perceived sanctuary, congregants share life experiences and private information with religious leaders that they would not share with others.

Prevention Strategies

The project proposes four strategies for lowering the incidence of CSM:

  1. Educate the public about CSM as misconduct and abuse of power, not a consensual affair between persons of equal power. Give the public language and permission to identify what they experience as inappropriate conduct and important early warnings that can enable prevention or early intervention.

  2. Provide religious education based on the scriptures about the role of power, and its use and abuse, in the workplace, the community of faith, and the family. Power and its use and abuse are not unique to religious congregations. Supervisors, teachers, community leaders, and parents need to understand and handle power appropriately, according to their religious faith. (Study series from Baylor School of Social Work on Christianity and the Abuse of Power is forthcoming.)

  3. Provide a code of ethics and clear role expectations for leaders that protect them from multiple and conflicting roles and provide them with appropriate oversight and support.

  4. Provide model legal legislation that defines sexual contact with congregants as illegal, not just immoral. See Helge and Toben, Sexual Misconduct of Clergypersons with Congregants or Parishioners Civil and Criminal Liabilities and Responsibilities.

 

* The co-investigators of this study were the late Diana R. Garland, LCSW, Ph.D., founding dean and Professor of Social Work, Baylor University; and Mark Chaves, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology, Religion, and Divinity, Duke University. The study is reported in two forthcoming articles. Journal of the Scientific Study of Religion will publish Chaves and Garland, The Prevalence of Clergy Sexual Advances towards Adults in their Congregations; and the journal Social Work and Christianity will publish Garland and Argueta, How Clergy Sexual Misconduct Happens: A Qualitative Study of First-Hand Accounts.

Diana R. Garland School of Social Work

811 Washington Ave.
Waco, TX 76701

swo@baylor.edu
(254) 710-6400
Apply
Give
Admissions
Request Info
Baylor BU Home
  • About Us
    Back
    • At a Glance
      Back
      • Our History
        Back
        • Meet Founding Dean Dr. Diana R. Garland
          Back
          • Honoring the past...the Carver connection
          • 20th-Century Pioneers: Building a Foundation for Ethical Integration of Christianity & Social Work
          • Founding dean recognized posthumously with NASW Pioneer Award
        • GSSW 50th Anniversary Video
      • Program Evaluation
      • The Waco Area
    • Office of the Dean
      Back
      • Leadership
      • Board of Advocates
    • Faculty Directory
    • Adjunct Faculty Directory
    • Staff Directory
    • Contact Us
    • GSSW News & More
      Back
      • GSSW Social Media
      • News
      • Desk of the Dean Newsletter
      • #BaylorProud
      • Media inquiries
    • Faculty/Staff Resources
    • School Calendar
  • Admissions
    Back
    • What is Social Work?
      Back
      • Career Success in the Field of Social Work
      • Social Work Core Values and Code of Ethics
      • Our Mental Health Focus in Social Work
    • Why the Garland School?
    • Advocacy in Action Blog
    • Minors & Electives
    • Bachelor of Social Work
      Back
      • Entry into the Major
        Back
        • Baylor BSW 5th Year Program - BSW to MSW
      • BSW Degree Requirements
        Back
        • BSW Course Descriptions
        • BSW Special Course Offerings/Electives
      • BSW Financial Aid
      • BSW Practicum Education
      • BSW: Alumni Spotlight
      • Minors
        Back
        • Civic Interfaith Studies Minor
        • Gerontology Minor
        • Poverty Studies and Social Justice Minor
      • FAQ - BSW
    • Master of Social Work Waco
      Back
      • How to Apply - Residential MSW
        Back
        • Advanced Standing Requirements
        • Navigating the Application
          Back
          • General Application Tips
          • Essays
          • Letters of Recommendation
          • Transcripts
        • Standard Requirements
        • Transfer Student Requirements
        • International Requirements
        • Admission Decision FAQ
        • Baylor BSW 5th Year Program
      • MSW Financial Aid
        Back
        • Residential MSW Tuition & Fees
        • Baylor One Stop: Financial Aid Resources
        • AmeriCorps Partnership
        • City Year Partnership
      • MSW Specializations
      • MSW Concentrations
      • MSW Curriculum
      • MSW Dual Degrees
      • MSW Practicum Education
      • MSW Webinars
      • GSSW MSW Alumni Spotlight
      • FAQ - MSW
    • Online Master of Social Work
      Back
      • What is Social Work?
      • How to Apply - Online MSW
        Back
        • Online MSW Eligibility Requirements
        • Practicum Evaluation (Advanced Standing Only)
      • Standard Online MSW Program
      • Advanced Standing Online MSW Program
      • Online MSW Tuition & Aid
      • Online MSW Webinars
      • Clinical Practice Specialization
      • Community Practice Specialization
      • Concentrations
      • Spotlight
      • Online MSW FAQ
    • PhD in Social Work
      Back
      • How to Apply
      • Financial Aid
      • Program of Study
        Back
        • Course Descriptions
      • Doctoral Faculty Research Interests
      • FAQ - PhD
      • Request Info - PhD
    • Global Mission Leadership
      Back
      • Scholarship Components
        Back
        • Eligibility
        • Initiative Faculty and Collaborative Scholarship
        • Informational Webinars
      • GML Scholars Past and Present
        Back
        • Brooke Abuya (MSW '15)
        • Dyen Anggraeni (MSW '17)
        • Shade Atanda (MSW '21)
        • Mukupa and Chad Harrod  (MSW '15)
        • Belinda Onyango (MSW '19)
        • Rose Wasike (MSW '15)
      • How to Apply
        Back
        • GML Frequently Asked Questions
      • Give to GML
    • Practicum Education
      Back
      • Practicum Team
    • Integrated Behavioral Health Certificate
    • Visit Us
      Back
      • Green Visit
      • Maps, parking and directions
      • Contact Us
  • Research & Impact
    Back
    • Research Activities
      Back
      • Research focus areas
      • Active funded projects
      • Faculty projects
        Back
        • Adult Clergy Sexual Abuse Advocacy & Research Collaborative
          Back
          • Meet our team
          • Research and Press
          • Find our resources
        • Black Female Fatherhood Scholars Network
        • The Ward: Race and Class in DuBois’ Seventh Ward
          Back
          • Project Components
          • Project Directors
        • Gerontology Initiative
        • Mastering Your Marriage
        • SERVE Project
        • Namaste Theory
        • Service Marriage Counselor Certification Program
      • Publications & Presentations
    • Research News
    • Center for Church & Community Impact (C3i)
      Back
      • What we do
        Back
        • Wellness
        • Care and hospitality
        • Difficult conversations
        • Vulnerable children, individuals and families
      • How we do it
        Back
        • Congregational Resources
          Back
          • Addiction and Recovery
          • C3I Academic Articles
          • COVID-19
          • Congregational Social Work
          • Difficult Conversations
          • Foster Care & Adoption
          • Immigration & Hospitality
          • Intersection of Art, Social Work & Faith
          • LGBTQ+
          • Public Media Pieces by Partners
          • Racial Justice
          • Trauma
          • Walking Alongside Curriculum
            Back
            • Legacies of Care
            • Foundations of Holistic Ministry
            • Understanding Poverty
            • Stepping Stones
            • Backpacks
            • Pathways
            • Food for the Journey
        • Cultivating leaders
        • Church consultation
        • Research
      • Meet the C3I team
      • Trauma-Sensitive Congregations
      • LGBTQ+ Discernment Guide
      • Peer-Learning Cohorts: Building Resilient Congregations
      • C3I In the News
      • Congregational Social Work
    • Social Work in Primary Care Training Program
      Back
      • Integrated Behavioral Health Certificate Program
        Back
        • Components of the IBH Program
        • Meet Our IBH Alumni
        • Meet Our Staff
      • Primary Care Clinical Social Work Fellowship Program
        Back
        • Meet Our Cohorts
    • Faculty-Authored Books
    • Current Research Assistants
  • Values & Virtues
    Back
    • Values and Virtues in Action
      Back
      • Selected Assessments and Implementation Efforts
    • Definitions and Approaches
    • Opportunities and Celebrations
    • So Far, So Good Podcast
    • Resources
      Back
      • Christianity & LGBTQ+ Persons - Justin Lee Lecture
      • Spanish fluency resources
  • Connect
    Back
    • Connecting With Care Podcast
      Back
      • Trailer
    • Give
    • Alumni Resources
      Back
      • PhD-Community Connections
      • Alumni News - Class Notes
    • Baylor University Career Center
      Back
      • Job Search Resources
      • Licensure Information
    • Continuing Education
      Back
      • Dyer Ethics Workshop 2024
      • Guardianship Certificate
    • Become an Internship Supervisor
    • Become an Internship Placement Site
    • Current Internship Supervisors
      Back
      • Current Internship Supervisor Benefits
      • Online: Internship Calendar
      • Waco: Internship Calendar
      • Current Internship Supervisor Resources
      • Practicum Education Manual - Waco
      • Practicum Education Manual - Online
      • Orientation
    • Post a Job Opportunity
    • Social Work Career Opportunities
    • Community Connection Magazine
  • Current Students
    Back
    • BSW
      Back
      • BSW Degree Requirements
      • BSW Financial Aid
      • BSW Advising
      • BSW Student Handbook 2024-25
      • Student organizations
      • Academic Actions
      • BSW Pass/Fail FAQ's
    • MSW
      Back
      • Waco Program
        Back
        • Garland School MSW Academic Catalog
        • Waco Program New Student Checklist
        • Waco Program International Student Resources
        • Waco Program Curriculum
        • Waco Program Registration
        • Waco Program Resources
      • Online Program
        Back
        • Online Program New Student Checklist
        • Online Program Curriculum
        • Online Program Registration
        • Online Program Resources
    • PhD
      Back
      • Current PhD Students
      • PhD-Community Connections
    • Resources, events and traditions
    • Career services
    • Practicum Education for Current Students
      Back
      • Waco: BSW & MSW
        Back
        • Waco: FAQ Practicum Education
        • Waco: BSW & MSW Internship Calendar
        • Waco Glossary/Terminology
        • Practicum Education Manual - Waco
      • Online: MSW
        Back
        • Online Glossary/Terminology
        • Online: FAQ Practicum Education
        • Online: MSW Internship Calendar
        • Practicum Education Manual - Online
    • Student Development
      Back
      • Committee Members
      • GSSW Committees: Student Representation
      • Student Awards
      • Travel Scholarships
  • Apply
  • Make a Gift
  • General Information
  • Academics & Research
  • Administration
  • Admissions
  • Gateways for ...
  • About Baylor
  • Athletics
  • Ask Baylor
  • Bookstore
  • Calendar
  • Campus Map
  • Directory
  • Give to Baylor
  • News
  • Search
  • Social Media
  • Strategic Plan
  • College of Arts & Sciences
  • Diana R. Garland School of Social Work
  • George W. Truett Theological Seminary
  • Graduate School
  • Hankamer School of Business
  • Honors College
  • Law School
  • Louise Herrington School of Nursing
  • Research at Baylor University
  • Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences
  • School of Education
  • School of Engineering & Computer Science
  • School of Music
  • University Libraries, Museums, and the Press
  • More Academics
  • Athletics
  • Compliance, Risk and Safety
  • Human Resources
  • Marketing and Communications
  • Office of General Counsel
  • Office of the President
  • Office of the Provost
  • Operations, Finance & Administration
  • Senior Administration
  • Student Life
  • University Advancement
  • Undergraduate Admissions
  • goBAYLOR
  • Graduate Admissions
  • Baylor Law School Admissions
  • Social Work Graduate Programs
  • George W. Truett Theological Seminary Admissions
  • Online Graduate Professional Education
  • Virtual Tour
  • Visit Campus
  • Alumni & Friends
  • Faculty & Staff
  • Online Graduate Professional Education
  • Parents
  • Prospective Faculty & Staff
  • Prospective Students
  • Students
  • Anonymous Reporting
  • Annual Fire Safety and Security Notice
  • Cost of Attendance
  • Digital Privacy
  • Legal Disclosures
  • Mental Health Resources
  • Notice of Non-Discrimination
  • Report It
  • Title IX
  • Web Accessibility
 
Baylor University
Copyright © Baylor® University. All rights reserved.
Baylor University • Waco, Texas 76798 • 1-800-229-5678