Abstract
In 1992 the results of a survey on clergy attitudes toward the traditional deadly sins and the schedule of virtues formulated by Erik H. Erikson were published in Pastoral Psychology (D. Capps, 1992). This study reports the results of a similar survey conducted a decade later. It also compares the results of this clergy survey with the findings of our laity survey published in 2000 in Pastoral Psychology (D. Capps & A. H. Cole, 2000). Clergy were asked to rank order the sins (from most to least destructive), to identify one sin with which they were personally struggling, and to indicate whether they consider a given sin to be more characteristic of men, of women, or of both genders equally. Similar questions were asked concerning the virtues, but from a positive rather than a negative perspective. While the results were generally similar to the earlier clergy survey, there were some modest changes in the way respondents ranked the sins and virtues, indicated their personal identification with them, and viewed their gender relatedness. While the number of women respondents to the 2002 survey was small, differences in the way that clergymen and clergywomen responded to the survey questions are noted. We particularly note that clergy view anger as a much more deadly sin than do laity, and also the consistent finding that respondents tend to struggle personally with sins they consider among the least destructive.
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Notes
Contemporary writers on the deadly sins have also noted that the English word “sloth” is a relatively poor translation of the original Latin word—“apatheia”—for the fourth deadly sin in the official list of seven. Whereas sloth has the connotation of indolence, laziness, or idleness, apatheia (or the English word apathy) implies lack of interest, unconcern, or indifference, or a sort of “not caring.” Thus, the word “apathy” was preferred over “sloth,” and the description of this attitude in the Life Attitudes Survey reflects this preference.
Epstein's book is one of seven books published by the New York Public Library and Oxford University Press on the deadly sins. Men were invited to write the books on pride, envy, anger, and lust, while women were invited to write the books on sloth, greed, and gluttony. Epstein indicates that when he was asked about his interest in writing a book for the series, pride, gluttony, and greed were already spoken for, so he had his choice of anger, sloth, lust, and envy. He indicates that, had it not already been spoken for, gluttony was “inticing” to him because he considers himself “a thin man in whom… a fat man has long been struggling to get out” (p. xv). Among his real choices, sloth had considerable appeal, as his “nervous temperament” has never allowed him to practice sloth “in a sustained and dedicated way” (p. xv). On the other hand, “Lust, sad to report, was never in the picture. Beyond a certain age—and I fear I have reached it—too great an interest in lust appears unseemly, not to say obscene, in a man” (p. xv). It occurs to us that the very process of self-reflection or self-interrogation in which Epstein engaged as he considered his options for writing a book about one of the deadly sins may be a useful process for anyone: “If I could write a book about a deadly sin, which sins would be viable candidates? Which sins would be out of the question? Which sin would I finally settle upon, and why?” It seems noteworthy that Epstein does not explain why he did not choose anger, which was also available to him. This may or may not be a significant omission.
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Capps, D., Cole, A.H. The Deadly Sins and Saving Virtues: How They Are Viewed Today by Clergy. Pastoral Psychol 54, 517–534 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-006-0020-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-006-0020-7