African American Women Clergy Experience in African American Church Systems

Background: The leadership experiences of African American women clergy is complicated because they are a numerical & power minority, in a context where leadership is overwhelmingly male. Church tradition and varied understanding of Biblical texts about female leadership generate a certain ambivalence toward female clergy leadership churches. Ample literature addresses stress and burnout in clergy and other professions, and also explores well-being, and boundaries,. There is a developing body of literature that explores secondary trauma and clergy, inclusive of these concerns among African American clergy. However, there are almost no studies that explore the issue of burnout or compassion fatigue solely among the community of African American women clergy.

Methods: This paper presents qualitative data from interviews with 12 African American Protestant women clergy. The group of participants ranged in age from 27 to 63 years, with three declining to give their ages. Purposive sampling was used to identify participants. The designation of African American is broadly applied based on the participants being part of the African diaspora and residing in this country, specifically in the northeast part of the United States. Not all the participants were born in this country but all self-identified as African American. The group was a randomly created fifty-fifty mix of currently single and married women. Three of the women had no children, and of these two of these were currently married. The data is a subset of a parent study that explored compassion fatigue in African American Protestant clergy. All participants are identified by pseudonyms.

Findings: The data analysis revealed experiences of sexism within the ranks of the male clergy and from church attendees, as well as the possible influence of female socialization upon the female clergy approach to leadership. Challenges experienced by the participants in this research were responded to with a tendency to remain outwardly focused. The cultural expectation for African American women includes suppressing emotions and resisting feelings of vulnerability, as well as prioritizing caregiving over self-care. The interplay of these findings is discussed in relation to possible challenges to the career development, and to the well-being, of African American women clergy.

Conclusion/Implications: This research sheds light on the dynamics between clergy and church attendees in relation to church attendee receptivity toward female clergy leadership. The research data provides clarity regarding invisible or minimized harmful social behavior. African American female clergy are in local churches, which are housed within nationwide and international denominations. Research that reveals their negative leadership experiences can be used to support advocacy for new or adjusted policies in denominations of Christian faith systems. The expansiveness of Christian faith denominations within the US, and globally, creates the potential for significant impact for positive change in the experiences and professional development of African American women clergy.