Abstract
This is the first article to compare a variety of religious organizations’ codes of conduct when dealing with clergy sexual misconduct. The comparison of codes from Catholic, Protestant and Jewish institutions provide a valuable indication of how this important and complex set of issues is being approached. Moreover, the sharing of information contained in this article will encourage clergy based organizations to learn from the practices of others in order to improve their regulatory procedures. In addition, it is hoped that as religious institutions learn from each other, stronger and more effective responses will be developed to address clergy boundary violations.
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Notes
See definitions from Microsoft Word Encarta Dictionary 2009: “1) involving sexual love; involving or characteristic of a love affair or sexual love, especially when the relationship is idealized or exciting and intense 2) suitable for love; characterized by or suitable for lovemaking or the expression of tender emotions.”
There are numerous articles and works that address the underlying facts and discuss the impact surrounding pastoral care and sex scandals in religious organizations. See Lawrence, Raymond J., Jr., Sexual Liberation: The Scandal of Christendom, Greenwood-Praeger, 2007; Jordan, Mark D.; Telling Truths in Church: Scandal, Flesh, and Christian Speech, Beacon Press, 2002; and Jordan, Mark D., The Ethics of Sex, Blackwell Publishing, 2001. These articles and works have not been further cited or discussed in light of this article’s approach, which is to compare various codes and bylaws to highlight features and address omissions or inadequate implementation.
The codes and bylaws, many of which are extensive, included for comparison in this article are from the Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Evangelical, Presbyterian and Jewish religious organizations.
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Gross-Schaefer, A., Feldman, L. & Perkowitz, N. A Time to Learn: A Comparison of Policies Dealing with Clergy Sexual Misconduct. Pastoral Psychol 60, 223–231 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-010-0310-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-010-0310-y