Like any good evangelical, I’m no expert on church history. So I was recently intrigued to discover a lesser-known effect of the reformation, which is how it shaped Christian thought on celibacy among clergy.

In the early church, married clergy was somewhat common. In the gospels we see that Peter was married. But this became increasingly less common in the medieval church. The emperor Justinian declared clerical marriages (where clergy get married after ordination) invalid in 530 AD. Just prior to the reformation, the idea of clergy, especially those in higher ranks, being married was almost unheard of. Whether it was because celibacy was seen as a biblical teaching or merely because it was thought of as a better option so that one might wholly concerned with “how to please the Lord (1 Cor 7:32), it was by far and away the norm.

Reformation thought rejected celibacy as a requirement for clergy or even as a better choice. Luther valued marriage as “the noblest condition in creation.” Recent survey data shows that in the U.S today, as many as 70 – 75% of pastors are married. The church made quite a reversal on the issue.