What does a chaplain do?
The word chaplain is originally referred to as representatives of the Christian faith. In tradition, a chaplain is a cleric or formal leader with an established religion or any non-ordained members of religious institutes. Chaplains now are diverse in terms of faith and often serve various constituencies. Chaplains are professionally trained and certified to provide spiritual guidance in a clinical setting to individuals who has issues with meaning, hope, and transcendence or any specific life circumstances it may be. They offer reflective listening and non-judgmental emotional and inner comfort in various settings, including the military, parishes, hospitals, prisons, universities, and schools.
Chaplain responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real chaplain resumes:
- Provide full pastoral ministry, visitation and counseling to inmates and incarcerate patients.
- Participate as members of a psychiatric or rehabilitation team in staff conferences concerning patients and inmates.
- Perform functions in field and combat environments, combat lifesaver tasks and apply communication skills in crisis/potential suicide intervention.
- Visit patients/families identify as appropriate for pastoral services and provide direct spiritual counseling, prayer, and ministry as appropriate.
- Certify in ASIST (suicideprevention )
- Participate in bi-weekly IDG meetings as part of IDG team.
- Fulfill document and attendance requirements for an intern of the CPSP CPE residency.
- Report to the diocese, Archdeaconry and relating with other parishes and churches.
- Conduct pre-surgical sessions for families and escort families for first visits following heart surgery.
- Function as a member of hospice team for each patient and for IDG and lead bereavement for such.
- Group as well as individual supervision is provided by the CPE supervisor who is a full-time chaplain with the hospital.
- Join daily rounds in ICU & DOU units and get information to patients who is very sick and focus support.
- Exchange and interact with interdisciplinary team to evaluate and respond efficiently to patients' particular spiritual needs.
- Establish therapeutic relationships and maintain healthy interpersonal boundaries with patients and families from a variety of cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds.
- Depart when residency are completed.
Chaplain skills and personality traits
We calculated that 21% of Chaplains are proficient in Patients, Social Work, and Clinical Pastoral.
We break down the percentage of Chaplains that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 21%
Offered full-time chaplain service/visitation to hospice patients in-home and in residential nursing facilities.
- Social Work, 11%
Collaborate with medical and social work staff to offer care for patients and families, respecting all spiritual and non-spiritual traditions.
- Clinical Pastoral, 10%
Provided clinical pastoral education for seminarians and pastors in the process of developing their clinical skills for ministry.
- Spiritual Care, 8%
Provide comprehensive spiritual care that encompasses individual/group counseling, grief counseling, leading worship and ordinances, and patient/family education.
- Pastoral Care, 7%
Implemented and provided tools for assessing and identifying spiritual resources of patients as well as monitoring and documenting pastoral care provided.
- Patient Care, 5%
Contributed to inter-disciplinary patient care-planning.
Most chaplains use their skills in "patients," "social work," and "clinical pastoral" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential chaplain responsibilities here:
The three companies that hire the most chaplains are:
- Navy Mutual999 chaplains jobs
- Us Navy130 chaplains jobs
- Curo Health Services37 chaplains jobs
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Compare different chaplains
Chaplain vs. Senior pastor
Senior pastors take responsibility in offering pastoral care and spiritual leadership in churches and parishes. They engage in community events, especially those with a religious theme. Their other duties and responsibilities include teaching, management, and preaching. They also oversee the management of the ministry of the congregation. The qualities of senior pastors include being accountable, humble, loyal, and honest. They should also be compassionate and loving to those they serve within the congregation.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, chaplain responsibilities require skills like "patients," "social work," "clinical pastoral," and "patient care." Meanwhile a typical senior pastor has skills in areas such as "community outreach," "overseer," "bible study," and "youth ministry." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Senior pastors tend to make the most money working in the education industry, where they earn an average salary of $40,270. In contrast, chaplains make the biggest average salary, $58,864, in the health care industry.The education levels that senior pastors earn slightly differ from chaplains. In particular, senior pastors are 5.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a chaplain. Additionally, they're 0.9% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Chaplain vs. Pastor
Pastors are considered the leader of a church whose primary role is to give sermons to church members. They also have other duties, including conducting worship services, planning weekly sermons, and interpreting scriptures for the congregation. As the church leader, they provide counseling and care to their members and offer support in times of crisis. Their job also allows them to officiate at special events like weddings, baptisms, and confirmations. Also, they are responsible for overseeing and supporting congregation staff and ensuring the functionality of church facilities.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, chaplain responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "patients," "social work," "clinical pastoral," and "pastoral care." Meanwhile, a pastor has duties that require skills in areas such as "community outreach," "overseer," "bible study," and "public speaking." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Pastors may earn a lower salary than chaplains, but pastors earn the most pay in the education industry with an average salary of $42,598. On the other hand, chaplains receive higher pay in the health care industry, where they earn an average salary of $58,864.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Pastors tend to reach lower levels of education than chaplains. In fact, they're 5.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.9% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Chaplain vs. Priest
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a chaplain is likely to be skilled in "patients," "social work," "clinical pastoral," and "patient care," while a typical priest is skilled in "educational programs," "financial statements," "catholic church," and "spiritual ministry."
Priests make a very good living in the non profits industry with an average annual salary of $34,725. On the other hand, chaplains are paid the highest salary in the health care industry, with average annual pay of $58,864.When it comes to education, priests tend to earn lower degree levels compared to chaplains. In fact, they're 5.6% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.6% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Chaplain vs. Elder
Types of chaplain
Updated January 8, 2025
