Clergy members make up a sizable portion of the population. Someone who is recognized and/or ordained to serve in an official capacity for a religion is known as a member of the clergy. When people consider the vast number of religions and sects of religions, it becomes nearly impossible to state, except in the broadest terms possible, what someone serving a religion in a recognized capacity might do, while acknowledging that there are many exceptions to the rule. Instead, it might be better to make some suggestions for what could be done.
Some of the most well-known clergy members oversee a church, parish, or religious activity in a specific location. They could not only take part in religious services, but they could also supervise other known participants who might be in charge of some of the services. They may be in charge of running an office, taking church collections, creating budgets, recruiting new members, developing educational programs, and a variety of other tasks. Many times, supervision extends to laypeople who may be involved in church activities, and a recognized clergy member may be in charge of recruiting laypeople for a variety of positions.
Depending on the religious structure, the clergy member may be supervised and answer to people in higher positions. This is especially true when there is a hierarchical order among several churches or religious centers. Anglican priests may be required to respond to Anglican bishops’ requests, and running a church may entail running it alongside a group of other churches overseen the bishop.
Clergy may have other jobs that are more about serving their religious community than about making money. Most priests, rabbis, ministers, and imams can marry two people and certify the marriage, and recognized religious figures can also perform other sacred religious duties. These could include things like visiting the sick, baptism or circumcision, and bestowing various blessings. What a religious figure may or may not do is highly dependent on the type of religion and clergyman.
A Catholic deacon, for example, can perform marriages and baptisms but not consecrate the Eucharist. He can celebrate the Eucharist and deliver a sermon, but not a full mass. The complexities of each clergy member’s job can quickly become overwhelming.
Clergy members may or may not be married in many religions. Some churches allow women and men to serve in any church position, while others only allow men to serve. Nuns, surprisingly, are considered clergy, despite having responsibilities that are usually delegated to males. Things are different now that the field has been opened up to evaluate female clergy serving as nuns. Nuns of various religions serve in a variety of roles, though they are not permitted to serve as priests in Catholicism; they may be highly trained and work as teachers, nurses, or doctors, or in other ministries to which they are called or assigned.