“You Know, the Church Has Never Agreed on Everything”: Analyzing the Prophetic and Pragmatic Voice in Clergy Sermons

Abstract

Clergy have regular opportunities to take a prophetic stance on social issues in their weekly sermons, but they are also responsible for maintaining organizational stability. How do they respond to controversial denominational decisions? We collected sermons from United Methodist Church (UMC) clergy following the 2019 UMC decision to maintain their prohibition against same sex marriage and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) ordination. Our qualitative analysis of a sample of 447 sermons reveals three strategies clergy use to respond to the UMC decision: prophetic engagement, unifying discussion, and detached acknowledgment. Further, we show that different strategies are likely tied to the pastor’s perception of the attitudes of their attendees. Some clergy are willing to use a constrained prophetic voice in support of LGBTQ people, but most balance their comments with pragmatic efforts to minimize conflict. As a result, a more inclusive religious voice is present, but it may be muted by congregational concerns.