10,470 are now ordained
There have been plenty of squabbles about the recent rush of women to become members of the clergy but few statistics. Last week, however, the National Council of Churches reported that an estimated 10,470 women now have full ministerial credentials. They make up 4% of the clergy in the 76 U.S. church bodies (out of 163 surveyed) that ordain both sexes.
That is an increase of 178% since a previous study in 1951, compared with a 62% increase for male clergy. The women are located pretty much where they have always been. Nearly two-thirds work in Pentecostal groups or...
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