Graduation Date
Spring 1974
Document Type
Thesis
Program
Other
Program
Master of Arts
Committee Chair Name
Dr. Lane Skelton
Committee Chair Affiliation
Cal Poly Humboldt Faculty or Staff
Second Committee Member Name
Dr. Larry Buffington
Keywords
Art
Subject Categories
Art
Abstract
This investigation is one step in the author's thinking about the theological and sociological concerns of religion in general and the campus ministry specifically. As such it is much more than just an objective look at a social phenomenon as required for a thesis in Sociology; it represents, for the author, a personaI inquiry into the Iives and conflicts of campus ministers as the author has come to know them. Approximately three years before initiating this investigation, the author seriously considered becoming a campus minister. It was during this early time, as he visited seminaries, talked with campus ministers, and in general, studied the field, that he decided there was a real need for an inquiry into the definition of the campus minister's functional role and role conflicts. During this early exploratory search, there was very little research evidence concerning the campus minister's role. There were studies of parish ministers and their role conflicts, especially during times of political, social, and racial unrest in their communities. There were studies of military chaplains as they confronted and had to cope with the seemingly incompatible conflicts between Christian and military ideologies and ethics. There were studies of what campus administrators thought campus ministers should do. There were surveys to discover who, in general, supervised religious activities on campuses. There were personal descriptions of what it is like to be a campus minister. There were historical treatises describing the changes in the role of campus ministers over time. There were essays about the campus ministry which attempted to describe what its role should be. But there was nothing known to the author at that time which attempted to actually investigate what those in the field felt about the role and about the conflicts they themselves perceive as happening in their work. To this end, the author decided to make the object of this study.
Recommended Citation
Markwell, David A., "Role Definition of California Campus Ministers" (1974). Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects. 2491.
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/etd/2491