M&D Deep Duck: Wicks & PROSTITUTING THE PULPIT? Janice Ellen Wood, DISSERTATION

[alice malice]

PROSTITUTING THE PULPIT? THE NEGOTIATED AUTHORITY OF
EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY NEW ENGLAND CLERGY

Despite the growing population in the colonies throughout the
eighteenth century, decreasing numbers of men chose to train for the
ministry. New England Congregational clergy not only declined in
number; the status, authority and influence enjoyed by their
seventeenth-century forbears had drastically declined as well. Early
in the century, ministerial authority was bolstered by the clergy’s
educational and financial superiority, a virtual monopoly over
religious sacraments and the force of localism in small covenanted
communities. But the social impact of explosive population growth, a
series of currency crises, and warfare throughout the eighteenth
century eroded conditions supporting ministerial hegemony. In the
midst of these social and economic changes, clergy faced the
temptation to prostitute their ministries for the security of their
positions. The loss of educational and financial superiority, their
monopoly on the sacraments, and the conforming force of localism,
drove eighteenth-century clergy to negotiate for more control over
their own futures. Late in the century, Congregational clergy largely
managed to escape the confines of a life-long tenure with one
congregation, but their newfound freedom did not restore their
declining prestige and authority; rather the weakened lay-clerical
bond accelerated the decline of the office of the ministry.
Ultimately, ministerial authority was a negotiated process between
clergy and congregations throughout the colonial period. In spite of
the overall decline of clerical status, the theme of negotiation
remained constant as the social and economic developments altered the
degree of leverage and type of negotiation each could utilize.


http://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1611&context=gradschool_diss
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