2018-2019
Mapping Chaplain Diversity aimed to understand the demographics of American chaplains and the extent to which those demographics align with the general population. In her 2012 book Paging God, Dr. Wendy Cadge found that chaplains were more likely to be white and Protestant than the rest of the U.S. population, raising questions about pipelines into chaplaincy and whether certain groups are being selected out to the detriment of the profession. Mapping Chaplain Diversity established the present state of chaplain demographics in ACPE, enabling educators to understand who is being trained and how their training translates into eventual chaplaincy practice.
The diverse United States population is changing in many ways – including steep growth in under-represented demographic groups. As the population changes and shifts, so does the population seeking healthcare and utilizing health services. The religious composition of the US population is shifting, as well. A 2014 Pew Forum report noted significant decreases in those who believe in God, pray daily, consider religion important, and attend services at least monthly. Across all measures of change, the profiles of people both using healthcare organizations and those working within them are shifting rapidly.
As the professional group most responsible for responding to people’s religious and spiritual needs in healthcare, little is known about the demographic profile of chaplains and how it relates to national population shifts. While chaplains can and do care for people who are different from them, apparent differences between chaplains and the general population raise questions about the pipelines into chaplaincy and whether certain groups are being selected out in ways detrimental to the profession.
This project was supported by an Innovative Program grant from ACPE. It asked how ACPE educational centers are thinking about diversity among chaplains in training and what, if anything, they are doing to diversify the profession. It asked also whether pipelines for training exist that cater to individuals who identify as non-white, non-male, non-Protestant, or young? Diversity and inclusiveness is a hallmark priority of ACPE, yet it is unclear how actually diverse are chaplains, ACPE supervisors, and training programs. The results of this project are available here: White, Barnes, Cadge, and Fitchet (2020). “Mapping the healthcare chaplaincy workforce: a baseline description.” Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy, published online 13 Feb 2020.
Abstract of White et al. (2020). “Mapping the healthcare chaplaincy workforce: a baseline description.” Journal of Healthcare Chaplaincy:
Changing U.S. demographics and the growing emphasis on diversity in the healthcare workforce requires professional healthcare chaplains to examine the characteristics of its own workforce. Previous research suggested that chaplains were mainly Caucasian/White and Mainline Protestant. To explore further, this paper presents a baseline sketch of the workforce and identifies important differences among board-certified chaplains (BCCs), certified educators, certified educator candidates (CECs), and clinical pastoral education (CPE) students. Although missing data quickly became the central story of the analysis and thus requires caution in comparison, the preliminary results suggest BCCs and Certified Educators are older and Whiter/more Caucasian than CECs and CPE students. At least one-third of chaplains and Certified Educators identify as Mainline Protestant, but students and CECs reported greater variation in religious affiliation. Chaplains may be similar to users of healthcare and hospitalized persons in terms of gender and race/ethnicity. Recommendations include suggestions for improving the data infrastructure of professional chaplaincy organizations.
