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Clergy is formally linked to three religions in this atlas: Christianity, Islam and Judaism, and unlike several convergence candidates in this pool, all three carry their own note. Its own description states the defining test directly: "The category is defined by exclusivity: if anyone may do it, no clergy exist."

What Each Religion Actually Reserves

Christianity's own note: "A priest alone consecrates and absolves; only a bishop ordains. The exclusivity of these functions is what makes Christian clergy clergy." Judaism's own note reserves almost nothing by comparison: "A rabbi is a teacher and an authority on law, not a priest. Prayer, marriage and burial can all be conducted by a competent layperson, and the priestly caste that did have exclusive functions lost them with the Temple." Islam's own note goes further still: "Islam has no ordination and no sacramental class. An imam leads prayer and may be any adult who knows the words; the scholars who interpret law are trained and influential but appointed by no rite." One religion reserves specific sacramental acts to an ordained office; one reserves almost nothing since the loss of its Temple; one reserves nothing formally at all.

A Fourth Comparison the Links Do Not Count

Its own description also names a fourth comparison, "Buddhist monks are not clergy in the sacramental sense and mediate nothing, though they receive offerings and confer merit," but Buddhism carries no formal link to Clergy in this atlas. The description's own closing caution applies to that comparison as much as to any other: "The word is Western Christian in origin and it should not be assumed to fit before it is checked."

Where To Read More

• ClergyOfficesThe category itself; three religions counted, reserving three genuinely different things
• ChristianityAbrahamic (Monotheistic)A priest alone consecrates and absolves; only a bishop ordains
• IslamAbrahamic (Monotheistic)No ordination and no sacramental class at all; an imam may be any adult who knows the words
• JudaismAbrahamic (Monotheistic)A rabbi is a teacher, not a priest; the priestly caste lost its exclusive functions with the Temple