Failing to Master Divinity: Loose Coupling within Seminaries

• In Event: 165 - Section on Sociology of Religion Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 14. Denominational Issues

Abstract

Seminaries, as both educational and religious organizations, have the goal of training religious leaders. In this article, I analyze the factors associated with the breakdown of this process, i.e. when a seminarian does not enter a religious career. Drawing on the most recent survey data of American and Canadian seminary students from the Association of Theological Schools (N=3,049), I use the new institutionalism concept of loose coupling to interpret results from logistic regressions testing four hypotheses. I find that students who are embedded within a seminary’s culture are more likely to enter a religious career, while those attending a university-affiliated seminary are less likely. Educational debt has no effect. Gender has profound effects on the choice to enter a religious career. Most importantly, I find that the vast majority of Master of Divinity graduates do enter into a religious career and loose coupling is a rarity among seminaries.

Author

• Todd W. Ferguson, Baylor University