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Historically, the churches have been more on the side of the status quo than on the frontiers of change and the achievement of social justice. The occupants of the pews con tinue to resist change, but those who occupy the pulpits have, to a considerable degree, experienced a deepening commitment to, and involvement in, the struggle for social justice. This is leading to the deepest schism in the churches since the Prot estant Reformation. The efforts of clergymen to make the faith relevant to the civil rights movement must be seen in a broader context of internal upheavals over the meaning and purpose of the faith, doctrinal belief, and the exercise of au thority. Lay resistance to involvement of the clergy is serious enough to raise the question of whether religion in its present institutional forms will survive.

Whether clergy are influencing opinions, setting agendas, mobilizing, or empowering parishioners, the primary mechanism is public speech. Using a national sample of 2,400 ELCA (Lutheran) & Episcopal Church clergy, surveyed in the late summer & fall of 1998, we explore the nature, frequency, & determinants of clergy public speech. We find that clergy public speech is relatively pervasive & conveys a significant amount of normative judgments about the workings of the policy process. In assessing its determinants, we find that clergy public speech is a product of personal motivation situated in an environment conducive to action, which includes the pressures exerted by the congregation, national political cues, & community. Specifically, we find that clergy speak out publicly on political issues when mobilized, but also as a way to represent their congregations in the public sphere & to motivate members to add their distinctive voices to public debate. 2 Tables, 23 References. Adapted from the source document.