Clergy - clergy

Japanese: 聖職者 - せいしょくしゃ（英語表記）clergy

Those who devote themselves to the work of spreading, maintaining, and educating on faith, which is considered a sacred task based on the faith of each religious system or group, are generally called clergy, but the scope and content of the duties differ according to each religion. Generally speaking, this category includes religious leaders, religious leaders, priests, monks, Shinto priests, pastors, and shamans. To work as a clergy member, one must be widely recognized as having the ability and authority (charisma) to act as an intermediary for the transcendent being that is the object of faith, or be publicly recognized as an expert in knowledge and ritual duties related to the religion in question. Examples of the former include prophets, religious leaders, religious leaders, shamans, and priests, while examples of the latter include Protestant pastors, preachers and head priests of new religions. Today, the qualifications for clergy are increasingly being determined by the latter rather than the former.

[Fujio Imon]

Clergy Duties

The duties of clergy can be generally summarized, ignoring the differences between religions, as follows: (1) performing and maintaining rituals for the object of faith, (2) educating believers on doctrine (including preaching), (3) performing various rites such as marriage, funerals, and initiation rites (baptism, etc.) that are the obligation of believers, (4) evangelizing and leading missionary work, (5) enforcing the precepts and church law, (6) acting as an intermediary between believers and the transcendent through prophecy, magic, divination, etc., or performing salvation duties based on faith (such as healing illnesses and other worldly benefits), (7) managing religious facilities and items used for rituals, (8) providing life counseling mediated by faith (individual counseling and group discussions such as hoza), (9) managing the finances of religious groups, and (10) training and asceticism.

However, in reality, as mentioned above, each religion has strict rules regarding the scope, type, rank, and duties of the clergy. There are those with various administrative powers, such as religious leaders and high-ranking priests, and those who simply preach and spread the gospel without the authority to perform rituals, such as preachers and missionaries of new religions. The former are those with special spiritual powers and authority (charisma) in their faith, while the latter are more like religious experts. For example, in the case of Catholicism in Christianity, only those clergy who have been ordained and appointed by the apostles (and later the Pope and bishops as their successors), who were given the authority by Jesus to be mediators between God and the faithful, are officially considered clergy, but among them there are ranks such as bishops, priests, and deacons, and each has a strictly defined role. In the case of Protestantism, since Luther adopted the doctrine of the priesthood of all, the status discrimination between clergy and lay believers has generally weakened. From a common sense perspective, after qualifications such as the level of confession of faith and knowledge of faith are tested, they are selected by the church to become pastors, evangelists, etc. In other words, Protestant clergy are more like teachers of faith or religious experts.

In Buddhism, apart from primitive Buddhism in which all monks and believers joined the Sangha (a group of people who practice and train on the path to becoming a Buddha, a religious organization), after Buddhism was transplanted to China and Japan, it became the state religion and an officially recognized religion, and a system of monks and priests was established, similar to that of state bureaucrats, and a situation developed in which the priesthood was treated as a privileged class, backed by social authority. This became the tradition of today's Japan's honmatsu system (a temple hierarchy with the chief priest at the top), in which monks are granted special duties and ranks.

In new religions, which are still new and ideally all missionaries, the scope of clergy was unclear at first, but as the sects grew, "those with a role," that is, full-time experts and teachers, began to appear, and gradually their qualifications were legalized and clergy appeared. This distinction was beginning to emerge in Rissho Kosei-kai and Soka Gakkai, which were training groups for believers that grew rapidly after World War II, but after a certain amount of history, most sects, whether Eastern or Western, have clergy who serve as teachers, such as the new religion Mormonism in the United States.

In the secular world, people who are considered to serve the interests of others, such as school teachers (especially primary and secondary school teachers), are sometimes called clergy, but this is thought to be due to the influence of Confucian traditions. However, more recently, teachers have come to be seen as professionals and experts in education, and this secular usage is fading.

[Fujio Imon]

[Reference] | Founder | Cult

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

それぞれの宗教制度・集団の信仰内容に基づいて、聖なる職務とみなされている信仰の広布、維持、教育などの仕事に専念する者を、一般に聖職者とよぶが、その範囲や職務内容はそれぞれの宗教によって異なっている。常識的には、教祖、教主、祭司、僧侶(そうりょ)、神職、神父、牧師、シャーマンなどがこれにあたる。聖職者として働くには、信仰対象である超越者の仲介者としての能力・権威（カリスマ）を広く認められるか、あるいは当の宗教に関する知識や儀礼業務の専門家として一般に公認される必要がある。前者には預言者、教祖、教主、シャーマン、祭司などがあり、後者にはプロテスタントの牧師、新宗教の説教師や法座主任などがある。今日では聖職者の資格も、前者より後者の形のものが強くなりつつある。

［井門富二夫］

聖職者の職務

聖職者の職務を、各宗教ごとの差を無視してごく一般的に概括すると次のようになろう。すなわち、〔1〕信仰対象に対する祭祀(さいし)の執行と維持、〔2〕信者に対する教義教育（説教も含む）、〔3〕信者の義務である結婚、葬儀、入信儀礼（洗礼など）などの諸儀式の執行、〔4〕伝道、布教の指導、〔5〕戒律、教会法の執行、〔6〕預言、呪術(じゅじゅつ)、卜占(ぼくせん)などによる超越者と信徒の仲介、あるいは信仰に基づく救済職務（病気なおしなどの現世利益(りやく)的行為）、〔7〕宗教施設、祭儀用物品などの管理、〔8〕信仰を媒介とする人生相談（個人カウンセリングや法座のような集団討議）、〔9〕宗教集団の財務の執行、〔10〕修行、修道、などがそれにあたる。

　しかし現実には前述のように、それぞれの宗教ごとに、聖職者の範囲、種別、職階、職務が厳しく制定されているのが常で、教祖や高級祭司のように多様な職務権限をもつ者と、代表的には新宗教の説教師、布教者のように、儀礼執行の権限ももたず、単に説教や布教にあたるだけの聖職者もある。信仰上の特殊な霊能力・権威（カリスマ）をもつ者が前者で、後者はむしろ宗教専門家的存在にあたろう。一例をあげると、キリスト教のカトリックの場合、イエスから神と信徒の仲介者であるべき権限を与えられた使徒（のちにその後継者としての教皇、司教など）から叙階(じょかい)、授職された僧職のみが、公式に聖職者とみなされているが、彼らの間にも司教、司祭、助祭などの職階があって、それぞれに厳しく役割が定められている。プロテスタントの場合は、ルターが万人祭司説を採用して以来、一般には僧職と在俗信徒の間の身分的差別は薄らいだ。ごく常識的にみると、信仰告白の程度、信仰に関する学識などの資格が試されたのちに、教会により選任されることによって牧師、伝道師などとなる。要するにプロテスタント聖職者にあっては信仰上の教師もしくは宗教専門家の色彩が濃くなっている。

　仏教では、出家(しゅっけ)や信徒のすべてが僧伽(そうぎゃ)（仏となるための道を実践修行する人々の集団。さんが、教団）に参加した原始仏教は別として、中国や日本に移植されてのちは仏教が国教や公認宗教になった事情もあって、国家の官僚のように僧制、僧官制度が成立し、社会的権威を背景として僧職を特権階層とする状況が展開した。これが今日のわが国の本末制度（管長を頂点とする寺院階級制度）の伝統となり、出家は特別な職務・職階を認められている。

　まだまだ出発も新しく、全員布教を理想としていた新宗教では、当初は聖職者の範囲は不明瞭(めいりょう)であるが、教団の成長とともに「お役をもつ者」すなわち教団に専従の専門家、教師が現れ、しだいにその資格が法制化され、聖職者が出現するようになる。第二次世界大戦後に飛躍的成長を遂げた信徒の修行集団としての立正佼成会(りっしょうこうせいかい)や創価学会でもこのような区別が生じかけているが、ある程度歴史をもつと、洋の東西を問わず、たとえばアメリカの新宗教モルモン教のように、そのほとんどが教師としての聖職者をもつに至っている。

　なお世俗的には、学校教師（とくに初等・中等教育の教師）など、他人の利益のために奉仕するとみなされている職業の人を聖職者とよぶこともあるが、儒教の伝統の影響によると考えられている。しかしごく最近では、教師なども教育の専門職、専門家とみられるようになって、このような世俗的用法は薄れつつある。

［井門富二夫］

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