Religious leader

Religious leaders serve their faith community by carrying out tasks such as leading services, preparing and giving sermons, officiating at events such as weddings and funerals, and helping people in times of need or distress.

Also known as

Cleric
Imam
Minister of religion
Priest
Rabbi
Vicar

Work activities

Being a religious leader is as much a way of life as a career. Roles vary from faith to faith, although certain aspects are the same for all religions. The most common UK faiths are Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Judaism and Buddhism, although there are many more. A religious leader’s title will depend on which faith they represent.

Religious leaders serve their religious community by teaching the faith, leading services, preparing and delivering sermons, leading acts of worship, and reading from sacred texts. They give spiritual guidance and comfort in times of distress and might organise practical support for people. Religious leaders arrange study groups for people of all ages in the congregation. They also conduct events or ceremonies such as weddings and funerals. They might also have financial and administrative duties and may sit on an administrative council made up of elected congregation members. This could involve helping the council to decide on issues such as fundraising, service times, social action (such as which charities to promote as part of seasonal/festival appeals), environmental and fair-trade policies, property maintenance and links with other faith groups.

Many religious leaders have a prominent role in the community that involves them in a variety of projects. They might contribute to newsletters, pamphlets, and articles for newspapers or websites, and take part in local radio or television programmes. They must also set aside time for ongoing religious study and works of theology, for the preparation of sermons, addresses and prayers, and for their own spiritual and devotional life. Religious leaders are increasingly involved in inter-faith work, helping to promote dialogue with and better understanding of other faith groups. They might also lead initiatives to help vulnerable people in society, such as asylum seekers/refugees and homeless people.

Personal qualities and skills

As a religious leader, you’ll need:

A genuine desire to help people.
The ability to relate to all kinds of people, in all circumstances, with compassion and sensitivity.
Leadership skills.
The ability to inspire others.
Moral and emotional strength.
To be patient, trustworthy and discreet.
Good communication skills, including public speaking skills.
An awareness of your community’s needs.
Excellent listening skills.
Willingness to keep up to date with how your faith/religion views different social issues.

You might also need teaching skills to lead study groups for children and adults. In some religions, you might teach the language used for sacred texts and prayer, such as Arabic or Hebrew.

Pay and opportunities

Pay for religious leaders varies widely. Some religious leaders earn a full-time salary. Those who serve a number of communities might be paid per service, plus travel and other expenses. Depending on the faith, there are also religious leaders who work voluntarily. Religious leaders might receive benefits such as accommodation, living expenses and the use of a car. For more detailed pay information, you should talk to organisations relevant to your faith community.

Religious leaders often work at weekends and during the evenings, depending on the religion. Otherwise, hours can depend on the religion’s festival and services calendar, with some times of the year being much busier than others. Generally, religious leaders need to be available to meet the welfare needs of their congregation. This can mean they need to be flexible in the hours they work, for example, when they need to visit or telephone people who need their support.

As well as being based at a local faith group’s centre of worship, there are opportunities to work in hospitals, prisons and the armed forces. There are opportunities for religious leaders to work in towns, cities and rural areas throughout the UK. However, some faith groups are mainly based in larger towns and cities, and in certain regions of the UK. Some religious leaders serve more than one congregation, perhaps in different parts of the country. This might be the case where the religious leader is working for small communities that cannot afford to pay for a full-time post. In these cases, the religious leader might be part-time or on a paid per session arrangement. There can be opportunities for religious leaders to work abroad, for example, meeting the needs of a congregation based in another country, or leading a voluntary or charitable project.

Entry routes and training

Entry routes vary widely depending on the religion or denomination of that faith, and it is difficult to give general advice. It’s a good idea to speak to your own religious leader to find out about their background and training. Please note that some denominations only ordain men. Where this is the case for traditional (sometimes called “orthodox”) movements, it might be that there is a denomination that will ordain women. The question of female ordination is debated within some movements, so you should keep up to date with the latest position.

Becoming a religious leader in some faiths involves training at a college, religious school or what might be called a seminary, depending on the religion. Training can include an academic programme, experience of leading services and ceremonies, and spending time abroad, for example, in a country where the religion’s holy places are. Training might also include studying for a degree or postgraduate qualification in theology or studies specific to the religion. The training could take between two and eight years, as an example; this will depend on the religion or movement within that faith. Courses could be full- or part-time and may be mostly or partly residential. The content of courses varies but might include subjects such as philosophy, pastoral studies, sociology of religion, theological ethics, the history of the religion and its followers, and management and communication techniques.

There are no set ways of being promoted – each religion has a different structure. With some experience, some religious leaders may take up training of other leaders. Promotion may also involve taking on more administrative tasks, which may mean less day-to-day contact with people in the community.

Rehabilitation of Offenders Act: Usually, posts that involve working with children or vulnerable adults are exceptions to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. This means that you must supply information to an employer about any spent or unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands or warnings, if they ask you to. This is different from other careers, where you only have to reveal information on unspent convictions if you are asked to.

Qualifications

There are no set entry requirements for training and, in general, your involvement in your religious community and sense of spiritual commitment will be more important than qualifications. However, training in some faiths might include studying for a degree or postgraduate qualification in theology or studies specific to the religion. In these cases, you should have the qualifications needed for entry to the course or be able to demonstrate the academic ability to study at university-level. Depending on the religion, you might need expert knowledge of the language used for sacred texts and prayer, such as Arabic or Hebrew.

For entry to a degree course, you’ll usually need:

Two A-levels.
GCSEs at grades 9-4 in your A-level subjects.
A further 2/3 GCSEs at grades 9-4.

Equivalent qualifications, such as Edexcel (BTEC) level 3 Nationals and the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma, might be acceptable for entry – please check prospectuses carefully.

Adult opportunities

Age limits: It is illegal for any organisation to set age limits for entry to employment, education or training, unless they can show there is a real need to have these limits.

Many training programmes involve home study, distance learning, weekend residential courses or summer schools, along with regular part-time activity, sometimes spread over several years. A range of colleges and universities offer courses in religious studies, often combined with the study of another civilisation or language at undergraduate and postgraduate level including with part time/flexible and distance learning study options.

Sources of funding can include sponsorship from the local community and bursaries from specialist religious or theological colleges. Sometimes, this can be means-tested on an individual basis.

Related careers

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Counsellor
Social worker
Teacher
Youth worker