Shifting Gears: An Exploratory Study of Factors Impacting the Well-being of Retired Faith-based Ministers in Australia and New Zealand

ABSTRACT

The rising tide of aged citizens globally suggests a compelling argument for increased understanding of factors impacting aging and retirement. Extended insight into the well-being of lesser studied groups offer suggestions to potentially enhance future planning for aging citizens. A study exploring the experience of clergy in Australia and New Zealand suggests a substantive theory on retirement in this context. A grounded study approach was adopted as best fit. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 42 retired clergy and their wives. Findings suggest the underpinning role of spirituality in the primary elements of; choice, flexibility and connectivity as factors impacting the well-being of faith-based retirees in this context.

KEYWORDS:

• Spirituality retirement church ministers aged well-being connection

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Ethics approval

Ethics approval for this study was obtained from the Avondale Human Research Ethics Committee on June 5, 2018.

Additional information

Funding

This work received no direct funding.