Course:History 344 Nasty Families/Professions/Clergy

The beginning of the seventeenth century marked a significant increase in the number of sons of esquires and gentry entering the clergy, although at that time "the prospects of a successful career in the church were apparently dismal." Very few livings were sufficient to support a minister and his family; Archbishop Whitgift estimated the proportion of decent livings at "less than six hundred out of nearly nine thousand." Men who entered the church generally had moderate wealthy backgrounds and independent means, which they hoped would cushion them from the low salaries that generally accompanied clergy positions. However, the clergy was not to remain a completely dismal occupational choice; in the mid-seventeenth century, the clerical profession rose in status “as they became better educated, better paid and of more genteel social origins”.

Church of England clergymen were allowed to marry. When it came time for marriage the clergymen drawn from upper classes of society were able to capitalize on their connections in order to marry a woman from a wealthy family. A rich wife could significantly improve the life of a clergyman. In terms of social status, beneficed clergymen were generally considered equal with gentry. The sons of clergy occupied ambiguous positions on the social scale, "but were probably awarded a place in the middle."

At the same time, education was rapidly expanding. The proportion of parish clergy who had either spent time at or graduated from university rose significantly in the first four decades of the seventeenth century. The proportion of university-educated clergy was as high as 75 per cent in some areas. Education was valuable for aspiring clergymen in part because vacant positions were generally awarded to university-educated men. About 22 per cent of students entering Caius College during the seventeenth century were the sons of "the clergy and other professionals." By the 1690s, 30% of students entering Cambridge belonged to this category.

Rectories and vicarages were not the only sources of employment for clergy members. There were opportunities to work as chaplains in hospitals, prisons, or even within the houses of the aristocracy or greater gentry in the country. A favoured few clergymen could even be chaplains to a bishop or a member of the royal family. The hundreds of new schools established during the period of education reform also provided job opportunities for clergymen, either as professional teachers in schools or in conjunction with their parish duties. In addition, clergy members were hired as helpers for resident incumbents to assist with routine work. Some were hired to be the deputies of pluralists, looking after the Parish when the pluralist was not in residence. The clergy often served as “a necessary link in the chain of local government” within their local parish and were responsible in part in ensuring that sentences were carried out and that the community operated as it should.

Further, members of the clergy within the community took on a unique role during the Stuart period. Many found themselves at the center of religious debates and either played a part in influencing where the parish stood, or found themselves in conflict on the wrong side of the fence.