by Gabriella Swerling, Telegraph
Pandemic, wars and gender and racial justice movements among factors causing stress, says Church of England report
A third of Church of England clergy could be suffering from depression, according to a Church report.
Some 16 per cent of 500 clergy polled “show indications of probable clinical depression”, with a further 13 per cent showing “indications of possible or mild depression”, the Living Ministry report on clergy well-being from 2017 to last year found.
This could mean that around 6,000 out of the 20,000 total clergy within the Church are suffering depression.
The Covid pandemic, the cost of living crisis, wars, climate change and “social movements calling for gender and racial justice” are among the factors affecting clergy, according to the internal report.
Problems within the Church, such as dwindling congregations, safeguarding failures and the resignation of Justin Welby as Archbishop of Canterbury in 2024, also added to their stress.
A further four in 10 of the clergy surveyed said they felt isolated in their ministry. Only 42 per cent said that they were living comfortably, with 11 per cent saying they were finding it difficult to manage financially. Fewer than three-quarters felt that they were “fulfilling their sense of vocation”.