Phenomenon
Children of clergy often experience pressure due to the expectations placed on them, and may develop feelings of isolation and inner conflict as a result. Parental workload (which, by definition, includes working on the weekend) may also be a source of stress.
Some writers suggest that there is a "preacher's kid syndrome", in which children of clergy reject religion and the church. Such rebellious children of the clergy are a stock figure in the Southern literature of the United States, and this view is seen as a stereotype.
Other writers note that children of the clergy (both Protestant and Jewish) may often become clergy themselves. Martin Luther King, Jr. (son of Martin Luther King, Sr.) and Franklin Graham (son of Billy Graham) are examples.
Children of clergy may be more exposed than their peers to the defining events of life. Former UK prime minister Gordon Brown recalled that he learned much about life, death, poverty, injustice and unemployment as a minister's son.
The "preacher's kid" phenomenon has been connected with the related one of "military brats" (children of active-duty military personnel). Children of preachers who are missionaries (Missionary Kids) may also be third culture kids.
Read more about this topic: Preacher's Kid
Famous quotes containing the word phenomenon:
“If you could choose your parents,... we would rather have a mother who felt a sense of guilt—at any rate who felt responsible, and felt that if things went wrong it was probably her fault—we’d rather have that than a mother who immediately turned to an outside thing to explain everything, and said it was due to the thunderstorm last night or some quite outside phenomenon and didn’t take responsibility for anything.”
—D.W. Winnicott (20th century)
“Culture relates to objects and is a phenomenon of the world; entertainment relates to people and is a phenomenon of life.”
—Hannah Arendt (1906–1975)
“The defiance of established authority, religious and secular, social and political, as a world-wide phenomenon may well one day be accounted the outstanding event of the last decade.”
—Hannah Arendt (1906–1975)