A calling, in the religious sense of the word, is a religious vocation (which comes from the Latin for "call") that may be

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

or voluntary and, idiosyncratic to different religions, may come from another person, from a divine messenger, or from within oneself.

History

The idea of a vocation or "calling" has played a significant role within

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. Since the early days of the Christian faith, the term has applied to candidates for the

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

. It soon began to be applied to those who felt drawn to a more rigorous observance of their faith through the contemplative lifestyle of the

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...

s and

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

s and nuns. Later,

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...

taught that each individual was expected to fulfill their God-appointed task in everyday life. Although the Lutheran concept of the calling emphasized vocation, there was no particular emphasis on labor beyond what was required for one's daily bread.

Calvinism Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Cal ...

transformed the idea of the calling by emphasizing relentless, disciplined labor. Calvin defined the role of "the Christian in his vocation", noting that God has prescribed appointed duties to men and styled such spheres of life vocations or callings. Calvinists distinguished two callings: a general calling to serve God and a particular calling to engage in some employment by which one's usefulness is determined. The

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Catholic Church, Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become m ...

minister

Cotton Mather Cotton Mather (; February 12, 1663 – February 13, 1728) was a New England Puritan clergyman and a prolific writer. Educated at Harvard College, in 1685 he joined his father Increase as minister of the Congregationalist Old North Meeting H ...

discussed the obligations of the personal calling, writing of "some special business, and some settled business, wherein a Christian should for the most part spend the most of his time; so he may glorify God by doing good for himself". Mather admonished that it was not lawful ordinarily to live without some calling: "for men will fall into "horrible snares and infinite sins"". This idea has endured throughout the history of Protestantism. Almost three centuries after John Calvin's death in 1564

Thomas Carlyle Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher. A leading writer of the Victorian era, he exerted a profound influence on 19th-century art, literature and philosophy. Born in Ecclefechan, Dum ...

would proclaim, "The latest

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

in this world is, 'know thy work and do it.'" The legacy of this religious ethic continues to exert its influence in secular Western society. Modern occupations which are seen as vocations often include those where a combination of skill and community help are implied, such as medical, care-giving, and veterinary occupations. Occupations where rewards are seen more in spiritual or other non-financial terms, such as religious occupations, are also seen as vocations. Borderline occupations, where community service and more personal reward are more evenly balanced, such as

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

, may often be regarded as vocations.

Distinctions among different denominations

Catholicism and Orthodoxy

In both the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and the

Eastern Orthodox Churches The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

, a candidate to the

diaconate A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

and priesthood is referred to as being called to this service in the Church. The term is also used for those in

consecrated life Consecrated life (also known as religious life) is a state of life in the Catholic Church lived by those faithful who are called to follow Jesus Christ in a more exacting way. It includes those in institutes of consecrated life (religious and se ...

Protestant churches

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

churches, the decision of a church to invite for appointment a particular minister - to "invite in due form to the pastorate of a church (Presbyterian or Nonconformist)" (

OED The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...

) may be referred to as a ''call'', such as ''extending a call to so and so'', and is first cited from 1560 by the OED. In

Evangelicalism Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual exper ...

, the sense of deliberate purpose before God is generally an expected part of the choice to seek ministerial work in the first place and is often referred to as a ''calling'' or ''call''.

Latter-day Saints

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

describes a calling as "a duty, position, or responsibility in the Church that is issued to a member by priesthood leaders.... t isan opportunity to serve." The church uses a lay

, with most members receiving no compensation for the execution of their callings. Prominent church leader

J. Reuben Clark Joshua Reuben Clark Jr. (September 1, 1871 – October 6, 1961) was an American attorney, civil servant, and a prominent leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Born in Grantsville, Utah Territory, Clark was a ...

said, "In the service of the Lord, it is not where you serve but how. In the hurch one takes the place to which one is duly called, which place one neither seeks nor declines." Prior to beginning service, a person is presented to church membership for a sustaining vote to that calling.Brian L. Pitcher
"Callings"
in '' Encyclopedia of Mormonism''. The person is then

set apart Setting apart is a ritual or priesthood action in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints where a person is formally blessed to carry out a specific calling or responsibility in the church. Once a person has accepted the responsibility ...

to serve in the calling by the

laying on of hands The laying on of hands is a religious practice. In Judaism ''semikhah'' ( he, סמיכה, "leaning f the hands) accompanies the conferring of a blessing or authority. In Christian churches, this practice is used as both a symbolic and formal met ...

References