Clericalism Essay ⋆ Political Science Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

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Clericalism is generally used as a pejorative term to describe the position of church hierarchy in society and the attitude of clerics toward the laity. It often denotes undue influence in worldly affairs on the part of ordained religious functionaries, but most commonly—especially in contemporary usage— indicates an overemphasis on the status, privileges, and special role of religious officials, with an eye to the failings and abuses stemming therefrom. While this perception of church institutions and leadership has existed in various manifestations and with varying intensity across the centuries, the term itself did not arise until the second half of the nineteenth century, in juxtaposition to the similarly modern neologism anticlericalism. Its association with church critics is reflected in its most famous invocation, French politician Léon Gambetta’s claim that “Le cléricalisme—voilà l’ennemi!” (Clericalism is the enemy!)

The concept of clericalism implies a distinction between ordained religious officials, or clergy, and nonordained members of the faith, or laity. Such a distinction is found to different degrees in many religions, though the Roman Catholic Church has been the principle target for the charge of clericalism. While some might identify the distinction between clergy and laity itself as the fundamental problem, the pejorative use of the term clericalism generally suggests that the clergy has overstepped or corrupted a theoretically legitimate role, usually at the expense of active lay participation in communal religious life.

Clericalism indicates excessive focus on ritual, hierarchy, and deference to clerical opinion, which is seen as fostering a conservative, self-seeking mentality on the part of clergy that distances them from the problems of everyday life, renders them hostile to human progress, and interferes with their responsibility to serve the religious community and ability to champion secular reform. Among those who are more sympathetic to the church, use of he term may imply a contrast between a somewhat idealized early church, closely attuned to the lifestyle and needs of the laity, and the subsequent abasement brought on by the accumulation of power and overly defensive reactions to the major secular and religious developments of the modern world. In recent times, clericalism has received renewed attention following the sex scandal within the Catholic Church and the evident lack of accountability facilitated by clerical status.

Bibliography:

Flynn, Frederick E. “Clericalism, Anti-Clericalism.” Commonweal 58 (April 1953): 43–47.
Sánchez, José. Anticlericalism: A Brief History. Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press, 1972.
Taylor, Charles. “Clericalism.” Cross Currents 10, no. 4 (1960): 327–336.