Religious Servants devote their lives to serving God and their community. Priests, nuns, monks, and rabbis all fall under this archetype, whose characteristics include spiritual devotion, dedication to social transformation, education and wisdom. Across different faiths, they provide counsel, inspiration, compassion, and direction to millions of people on a daily basis—no small feat.

Often these Religious Servants are not necessarily known outside their local communities, although there are a few who gain national recognition. Sister Helen Prejean, whose autobiography was the basis of the movie Dead Man Walking, is well known for her work ministering to death row inmates and vocal opposition to the death penalty. Joel Osteen of Lakewood Church in Texas and Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in California are popular on an international scale, thanks to their regularly televised sermons and best-selling books like Your Best Life Now and The Purpose Driven Life, respectively. More recently, football quarterback Tim Tebow has brought his belief in missionary service to the forefront of popular culture.

We can learn a lot from different cultures as well: Buddhist monks like the Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh remind us to practice peaceful and nonviolent actions towards others and, importantly, ourselves. Bishop Desmond Tutu from South Africa has spent his life campaigning to end apartheid and fighting against poverty, AIDs, racism, sexism, and homophobia.

Other Examples
Billy Graham, Pope Francis, Pat Robertson, Teresa of Avila

Strengths
Humble, kind and disciplined, the deeply religious can be inspirational teachers and friends.

Weaknesses
Many live sheltered lives that give them unrealistic expectations about how people should conduct themselves.

Passions
Prayer, holidays, teaching, community service, hard work, and inspirational activism

Readings

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