Sex and the clergy : an insider perspective on attitudes towards celibacy

Abstract

Sexuality is an important part of the human experience. It can be considered a sensitive topic especially in a religious context. Manliness, on the other hand, has been emphasised by the Catholic Church for many years (van Es, 2021). One example of this is through the support of male-dominant gender hierarchies in the Church (Gerber, 2015). Men and masculinities seem to be understudied in the religious sphere and studies on gender and religion tend to centre around women (Romeo Mateo, 2021). There is literature about celibacy and loneliness, however, many of these studies are among involuntary celibates known as incels (Sparks et al., 2023). Research on the intersection of sexuality, masculinity, and religion among clergy is lacking. This is surprising, since celibacy is a notable pillar of priesthood in the Catholic Church. It is especially so in the Maltese context where the ratio of priests in the community is high compared to other secularized societies. It is therefore important to understand what part sexuality plays in the life of a celibate person, especially in the context of hegemonic masculinity. This is because priests tend to fall between two male stereotypes: the hegemonic man and the biblical man (Roger, 2019). Hence, the aim of the study is to investigate whether there is a relationship between celibacy, manhood beliefs and loneliness. A survey will be carried out among a sample of Roman Catholic priests living in Malta. Questions from three scales will be used in the questionnaire: the Commitment to Celibacy Scale (Joseph et al., 2010), the Loneliness Scale (de Jong Grievald & Van Tilburg, 2006), and a manhood beliefs scale. The expected sample size is 150 male priests. There is an expected association between attitudes towards celibacy and manhood beliefs, as well as between attitudes towards celibacy and loneliness. However, the direction of the relationship will be determined by the results of the study.