Just wondering....

[wildwood]

Do Priests, Pastors, Ministers, Imams etc. have to pass at some sort of government approved qualification to become one, or is this some self governing outfit?

[naomi24]

No, they don't Wildwood.

[Ankou]

in terms of imams, it depends on the branch of islam. some imams are just "knowlegdable" people in the mosque, whiilst in other branches they are a cleric and thus religious leader. the only 'qualification' you would need is to know (or claim to) more of the koran than anyone else in the congregation. oficially it is generally any respected muslim who is normally well-trained in leading prayer, salah, can be an imam. and he must have a beard.

priests (roman cath. etc) go through a process of holy orders to a point of ordination. a trainee priest must undertake five years of formation in seminary (more often a degree or suchlike in theology), and also spend time working in pastoral situations. the clergy who are mentoring the priest will make recommendaitons to the bishop who will then decide himself whether the candidate should be ordained as a deacon for 6 months, before being confrmed as a priest.

similarly, rabbis would aim for semikhah, which is also ordination. this requires theological study and indepth knowledge of the talmud and jewish law. mostly the semikhah is a formal qualification from a rabbinical institution or academy - such as the london school of jewish studies. the process takes 5 - 7 years.

under c of e there is a list of set criteria and following a similar vein to the catholics recommendaiton is made for a counicl to decide.

none of the above are approved by the government so essentially they are self-certifying. the main difference is c of e being a state church, where an arch bishop is appointed by the prime minister - or recommendation via the c of e appointents committee which the prime minister can reject - as thatcher did once. then recommendation is made to the sovereign for formalities to ensue in the college of canons.

[pdust]

*and he must have a beard*

im sure its ok to do salat behind an Imam without a beard ankou :) i dont think its haraam, more makrooh (disliked)

[Ankou]

ah ok. fair point. i did add the bit about the winkles of imams and rabbis have to be chopped. but thought better of it.

[whiskeryron]

Now there's something for dinner for a nice change ''chopped winkles'' with sauerkraut.

Ron.

[pdust]

i wasnt sure if it was tongue in cheek ankou... as i typed then googled for a quick check to make sure i was giving correct info i thought 'if hes just being daft im gonna give him a right cuff round the lug...'

[wildwood]

Thanks for that. It seems the religions which are most adhered to in the UK have quite a serious selection program then.

[naomi24]

Yes, within their specific area - just like any other business with its own interests at heart really.

[Ankou]

true, they are also spiritually trained (for counselling purposes) but the qualification only really enables them to preach to the people that want to listen and a position of authority amongst the like-minded within their appointed parish etc. yes i know it doesn't stop there - but apart from the qualification enabling them to sit in our political infrastructure (which is in the main a travesty) what other qualifications do you expect ? if they went through a goverment programme to assess and approve their station - what would that add to anything ?

[wildwood]

I meant more in a way that trademen and lawyers/doctors have to be qualified by some approved institute to work as such, Ankou.

[naomi24]

If you think about it, since they all believe differently, how could there be a standard qualification?

[Old_Geezer]

Your assumption seems to be that the government is the top of the pyramid and all other organisations have to fit into what the government demands: but with my limited knowledge of history has there not always been a power struggle between the organisations that claim to take their orders directly from God and those that are set up by man without recourse to a diety ? Why would a religion think it necessary to be in some kind of 'approved by the state' institution ? The suggestion doesn't seem to make sense unless religion has finally thrown in the towel and renounced all it stood for.

[Ankou]

very true og.

professional architects should be qualified according to the rules and regs of the riba. apart from statutory legislation which everyone must abide, they are self governing with no government input. if anything the riba has more input to the govmt than vise versa.

[FredPuli43]

No, the religions are self-governing and self-regulating, like the Bar (and what a religion that is! Ceremonial archaic robes, strange arcane practices, some of them conducted in a dead language, constant reference to the authority of the pronouncements of elders....)

[jomifl]

They are all qualified and approved by god. If he didn't want them to preach he would either at the very least strike them dumb or at the very worst strike them with a lightning bolt. As this doesn't happen they must all meet with his approval. It could be that he allows scallywags and charlatans to pose as religious authorities in order to test his devotees' faith and gullibility. There is another answer but it is so silly that I don't think any believers would countenance it.