ABSTRACT
The question of how clergy, ministers and priests view their ministry is particularly pertinent during a time of theological controversy. Religious functionaries have been subjected to considerable pressure from radicals within the Churches, from intellectuals outside, and from many lay people, to make the content of their beliefs, their daily activities and their forms of worship relevant to the complexities and exigencies of modern society. The term ‘official’ was used in the case of our Anglican and Roman Catholic respondents, whereas ‘representative’ was used for Methodists. A further important reason for examining role definitions is because of its possible status as an intervening variable between aspects of origins, experience and beliefs, on the one hand, and attitudes towards ecumenism, reform and the organisation, on the other.
