Leadership Orientation and Burnout in National Sample of Religious Leaders

Religious leadership in congregations is challenging work, and there are several negative outcomes that indicate just how difficult the tasks of religious leadership are such as high levels of clergy burnout (Jackson-Jordan, 2013) and clergy health issues (Eagle & Holleman, 2022). In particular, recent reports have present that burnout is dangerously high. This study seeks to explore the various factors that influence burnout in religious leaders from a leadership perspective. Religious leaders must be able to perform a variety of tasks from preaching, teaching, pastoral care, managing building and personnel, and other leadership functions (Kuhne & Donaldson, 1995; Nauss, 1995). In addition, religious leadership have high work load levels. The issue of burnout may indicate that the leadership orientation that religious leaders have may not properly align with the leadership orientations (task-focused or relationship-focused) needed to navigate the complexities of religious leadership. This paper examines the leadership orientation and workload levels of religious leaders and the potential impact of those orientations on burnout. Using the National Survey of Religious Leaders (NSRL) data (Chaves et al. 2022), the study is able to examine burnout in a national sample. Many of the reports of burnout stem from particular denominations that are not generalizable. This study will be able to provide analysis on where burnout may be lower/higher for religious leadership within various denominations and congregational sizes. This study utilizes “hours related to activities” variables in preaching, teaching, visiting, and counseling as proxies for leadership orientations and workload levels to explore whether those leadership orientations influence burnout indicators. The impact of gender, race, age, educational attainment, years in ministry, denominational type, and congregational size on burnout of religious leaders is also observed. In addition, the moderating impact of the religious leader feeling cared for by the congregation and their spiritual practice of prayer will be explored. Initial analyses shows that having a task-oriented focus, higher workloads, years in ministry, and larger congregations lead to higher burnout levels. Also, feeling cared for by the congregation moderates the relationship between leadership orientation and burnout such that religious leaders with a relationship focus experience have less burnout. Further analysis will be performed, but these initial findings highlight the importance of relationships for religious leaders, the role of congregations, and the need for self-care. The leadership orientation and workload levels of religious leaders may have important implications for the well-being of these leaders as well as how these leaders are trained for their job responsibilities.