Log in

Occupational Burnout Levels of Turkish Imams

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Review of Religious Research

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to examine the level of occupational burnout among Turkish imams. The study was a descriptive one in which the data was gathered through the “Maslach Burnout Inventory” and the “Personal Information Form”, which were given to 124 imams working in Bursa, Turkey. For the 124 imams with the study population comprised, 11 variables were examined. These variables were, marital status, age, educational level, length of service, working district, occupational difficulty, using computer technology, occupational research, part-time job, Arabic language, and size of community. For the statistical analysis of the collected data Kruskal–Wallis, t test, ANOVA χ2, and Fisher’s exact test were used. The results indicated that although there was no statistical difference between the education level, marital status, Arabic, and computer knowledge variables among imams in any of the subscales, there were significant differences on emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment subscales (p < 0.005) on age, length of service, workplace, occupational difficulty, part-time job, occupational research, and size of the community variables.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
EUR 32.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or Ebook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Browning, R.W. 1982. Professional burnout among the clergy. Georgia: Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Georgia State University.

  • Coate, M.A. 1989. Clergy stress. London: SPCK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Daniel, S., and M. Rogers. 1982. Burnout and the pastorate: A critical review with implications for pastors. Journal of Psychology and Theology 9(3): 232–249.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davey, J. 1995. Burnout: Stress in ministry. Leominster: Gracewing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ergin, C. 1992. Doktor ve Hemşirelerde Tükenmişlik ve Maslach Tükenmişlik Envanterinin Uygulanması. 7. Ulusal Psikoloji Kongresi Bilimsel Çalışmaları. 143–154.

  • Evans, L. 1997. Understanding teacher morale and job satisfaction. Teaching and Teacher Education 13: 31–845.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Francis, L.J., P. Kaldor, M. Shevlin, and C.A. Lewis. 2004a. Assessing emotional exhaustion among the Australian clergy: Internal reliability and construct validity of the scale of emotional exhaustion in ministry (SEEM). Review of Religious Research 45: 269–277.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Francis, L.J., S.H. Louden, and C.J.F. Rutledge. 2004b. Burnout among Roman Catholic parochial clergy in England and Wales: Myth or reality? Review of Religious Research 46: 5–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Francis, L.J., and D.W. Turton. 2004. Recognising and understanding burnout among the clergy: A perspective from empirical theology. In Building bridges over troubled waters: Enhancing pastoral care and guidance, ed. D. Herl and M.L. Berman, 307–331. Lima: Wyndam Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Golden, J., R.L. Piedmont, J.W. Ciarrocchi, and T. Rodgerson. 2004. Spirituality and burnout: A study. Journal of Psychology and Theology 32(2): 115–125.

    Google Scholar 

  • Halbesleben, J.R.B., and M.R. Buckley. 2004. Burnout in organizational life. Journal of Management 30(6): 859–879.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haley, J.M., and L.J. Francis. 2006. British methodism: What circuit ministers really think. Peterborough: Epworth Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall, T.W. 1997. The personal functioning of pastors: A review of empirical research with implications for the care of pastors. Journal of Psychology and Theology 25: 240–253.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hills, P., L.J. Francis, and C.J.F. Rutledge. 2004. The factor structure of a measure of burnout specific to clergy, and its trial application with respect to some individual personal differences. Review of Religious Research 46: 27–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaldor, P., and R. Bullpitt. 2001. Burnout in church leaders. Adelaide: Openbook.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kayıklık, H. 2007. Din Görevlilerinde Tükenmişlik. Çukurova Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi 7(2): 1–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kilgore, K.L., and C.C. Griffin. 1998. Beginning special educators: Problems of practice and the influence of school context. Teacher Education and Special Education 21: 155–173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Louden, S.H. 1998. The greying of the clergy: An assessment of role, stress burnout and personality among Roman Catholic parish clergy in England and Wales. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation. University of Wales, Trinity College, Carmarthen.

  • Louden, S.H., and L.J. Francis. 2003. The naked parish priest: What priests really think they are doing. London: Continuum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maslach, C., and S.E. Jackson. 1986. Maslach burnout inventory manual, 2nd ed. Palo Alto: Consulting Psychologists Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maslach, C., and M.P. Leiter. 1997. The truth about burnout: How organizations cause personal stress and what to do about it, 1st ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • McKown, D.G. 2002. Pastors in conflict: The nature extent, contributing factors and consequences of conflict in ministry. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, Fuller Theological Seminary.

  • Musson, D.J. 2000. Personality and clergy formation: Assessing Cattell’s among clergy in the church of England. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Wales, Bangor.

  • Qur’an-Karim. 2012. http://www.kuranikerim.com/english/m_indexe.htm. Accessed on 06 Jan 2012.

  • Randall, K.J. 2001. Churchmanship, the relationship of patterns of Christian ideology and self-understanding to the personality and ministerial practice of stipendiary curates in the Church of England and the Church in Wales. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Wales, Bangor.

  • Randall, K.J. 2004. Burnout as a predictor of leaving Anglican parish ministry. Review of Religious Research 46: 20–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Randall, K.J. 2005. Evangelicals etcetera: Conflict and conviction in the Church of England’s parties. Aldershot: Ashgate.

    Google Scholar 

  • Randall, K.J. 2007. Examining the relationship between burnout and age among Anglican clergy in England and Wales. Mental Health, Religion and Culture 10: 39–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, S.B., K.J. Flannelly, A.J. Weaver, and C.R. Rigley. 2003. Comparison fatigue among Chaplains, clergy and other respondents after September 11th. Journal of Nervous and Mental Diseases 191: 756–758.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodgerson, T.E. 1996. Assessing the contribution of religious problem-solving in the prediction of clergy burnout. Paper presented at the annual convention of the American Psychological Association, Toronto, Canada.

  • Rutledge, C.J.F. 1999. Exploring burnout among male Anglican parochial clergy: A function of role and personality? Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Wales, Lampeter.

  • Rutledge, C.J.F., and L.J. Francis. 2004. Burnout among male Anglican parochial clergy in England: Testing a modified form of the Maslach burnout inventory. Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion 15: 71–93.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sanford, J.A. 1982. Ministry burnout. London: Arthur James.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schaufeli, W.B., and D. Enzmann. 1998. The burnout companion to study and practice. A critical analysis. London: Taylor and Francis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tavşancıl, E. 2006. Tutumların Ölçülmesi ve SPSS ile Veri Analizi. Ankara: Nobel Yayın Dağıtım.

    Google Scholar 

  • TSI Turkish statistical institution. 2011. http://www.tuik.gov.tr/PreTablo.do*tb_id=24&ust. Accessed on 28 Sept 2011.

  • Turton, D.W. 2003. Pastoral care of the clergy. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Wales, Bangor.

  • Turton, D.W., and L.J. Francis. 2007. The relationship between attitude toward prayer and professional burnout among Anglican parochial clergy in England: Are praying clergy healthier clergy? Mental Health, Religion and Culture 10: 61–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • WHO World Health Organization. 2010. http://www.who.int/research/en. Accessed on 23 June 2010.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rüyam Küçüksüleymanoğlu.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Küçüksüleymanoğlu, R. Occupational Burnout Levels of Turkish Imams. Rev Relig Res 55, 27–42 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13644-012-0057-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13644-012-0057-2

Keywords

Navigation