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Clergy
These are individuals that have devoted themselves to the religious practice that has called them to service. This can range from the formally ordained to those that have received special training to serve the church in other ways on a part time basis.
341 Questions
Are clergy closer to god than lay people?
I'd say "yes" because I expect the average age of a clergyman to be greater than that of the average parishioner. If that hypothesis is valid then clergymen will meet God sooner. All bets are off if Judgement Day turns out to be a discrete day on which all of us meet our maker at once.
Now, for an answer with a different connotation of "Closer"...All men are born sinful and unclean. Nobody, by his own merit, deserves anything but Hell. Jesus Christ died as the Perfect Sacrifice to redeem sinful man. All who repent their sins and who are baptized in His name are promised salvation. If you believe this, then you have the same opportunity to enter into paradise as any clergyman.
Who carries the mitre and crown in church?
Altar boys or those in minor Orders usually hold the Bishop's mitre (or crown in the Eastern Rites) when it is not on his head.
What did the clergy do for society that mgiht justify their low tax rate?
There is a myth that clergy pay a lower tax rate, when in fact in total tax (SE tax + income tax) often they pay far higher taxes than the typical W2 wage earner. How is this so? Because they are considered "self-employed" by the IRS and thus pay a whopping 15.3% off their gross income (before adjustments and exemptions) AND regular income tax. Effectively this means they pay more in total tax.
The regular wage earner pays half (or in 2011 less than half) of Social Security (the equivalent of "self-employment tax") and the employer pays the rest.
Obviously this is a bad situation, so much so that Congress began to allow clergy to exclude the lower of fair market value of their home or actual expenses for housing from regular income tax (but not self-employment tax, that still comes off the top).
So a minister earning $50,000 pays $6141 in SE tax (13.3%, down from 15.3 last tax year) on that income PLUS any regular income tax. If a minister spent $15,000 total on housing, he would still pay regular income tax on $35,000 at the going rate. That would be about an additional $2871, for a total of $9012, or an effective total tax rate of 18% tax on just $50,000 income. That's a dead heat with a regular income earner ($9081).
How many non European cardinals vote for pope?
As the College of Cardinals is constantly changing, I am attached the link to the Wikipedia main page listing the Cardinals by nationality so that you may access when you would like to find out this information.
Who was the Holiest Man of the 20th Century?
Opinions vary. A good favourite would be Mahatma Gandhi. Other possibilities would be the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela.
What is the difference between a verger and sacristan?
Verger is an older English (as in British) term for a sacristan. I have an older dictionary from England which lists a verger as a beadle or one appointed to keep order in Church, or a sacristan. The terms beadle and verger are not in my modern American Catholic dictionary at all.
Why did politicians and clergy opposed the globe theatre?
The Globe, along with other theatres such as The Rose, The Swan, and The Hope, was located in Southwark, a borough south of the River Thames famous for brothels and general lawlessness. A theatre might bring 3000 people together--a ripe prospect for pickpockets and cutpurses. It was also a place where prostitutes could solicit for business. Clergymen opposed this on moral grounds (although some of them owned the brothels in Southwark) and politicians on the grounds that theatres increase crime and (it was thought) disease. The Puritan clergy opposed theatres on the general ground that enjoying oneself was contrary to God's law (a point of view still heard today), and when those clergymen got control of the government all of the theatres in the country including the Globe were closed. It was as a result of this that the Globe was torn down in 1642.
How did the clergy affect the native Americans?
it forced native Americans to adopt Spanish ways as well as beliefs the priests also made it possible for some blending of the native Americans and Spanish cultures.
Why were clergy treated unfairly during the French Revolution?
In part because the French considered it "Pay Back Time"after centuries of abuse by the Catholic Church which owned 10% of all of the land in France and placed a 10% tax on all members of the Third Estate.
The extension of the clergy (church officials) into politics is based on a church's interest in the welfare of the populace. However, in the past, the church frequently wielded governmental powers itself, and still does in some religions, notably Islam.
