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Examines the effects of marital status on the earnings of Protestant clergy, focusing on how gender mediates the effects of marriage & divorce. Mail questionnaire data gathered in 1993/94 from about 4,600 clergy from 16 denominations in the US indicate that marriage has a positive effect on earnings for men, but not for women. Results challenge the hypothesis that these extra earnings are indirect compensation for the "pastor's wife," who traditionally acts as an unpaid staff person when the pastor is hired. No difference is seen between earnings of married men whose wives work full-time outside the church & those whose wives stay at home & support their husband's church activities. Divorce does not depress earnings for men & has a positive effect on the earnings of women, relative to married women. Divorced women tend to work more paid hours than married women. Analyses of clergy in conservative denominations reveal no negative effects of divorce on earnings. However, this may be due to the small number of divorced clergy in these conservative denominations. 2 Tables, 32 References. Adapted from the source document.