The Religious Leader’s Sense of Agency Since November 5, 2024: A Case Study of U.S. Clergy

The United States’ sociopolitical climate of the past year has likely shifted a clergyperson’s sense of professional agency—sense of being able to freely, safely, and confidently lead a community. A 2024 literature review confirmed that religious leaders are often burnt out and struggling, as individual, relational, and organizational factors compound upon each other, potentially jeopardizing their capacity to healthily and reliably execute their duties. Thus, any additional sense of decreased agency can have deleterious effects on not just the well-being of the religious leader but on the broader congregation and even local community. Drawn from the qualitative transcripts of group meetings with clergy from across the United States, two case studies will elucidate some of the ways congregational clergy have felt shifts in their sense of agency to freely perform their role since the presidential election in November 2024.