Baylor researchers discovered that these sexual advances not only take place often but that they occur in a wide range of denominations, religious traditions and leaders.

The findings come from questions from a 2008 survey of more than 3,500 American adults who, among other things, were asked if they've ever been the objects of sexual advances from a religious leader since turning 18.

The study found that 3.1 percent of adult women who attend religious services at least once a month have been the victims of clergy sexual misconduct since they turned 18.

That translates to an average of about seven women in a congregation of 400 adults, the study says.

"It certainly is prevalent, and clearly the problem is more than simply a few charismatic leaders preying on vulnerable followers," said Diana Garland, dean of Baylor's School of Social Work, who co-authored the study.

Shockingly, researchers also found that more than two-thirds of the church leaders who committed these offenses were married to someone else at the time they tried to establish a sexual relationship with a member of the congregation.

Carolyn Waterstradt, 42, a graduate student who lives in the Midwest, told The Washington Post that she was coerced into a sexual relationship with a married minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America for 18 months. He had been her pastor for a decade, she said, and told her the relationship was ordained by God.

"I believed him because I was looking for direction and for help," said Waterstradt, who ended the relationship years ago and entered therapy. The pastor was removed from the clergy.

Waterstradt said she has suffered lasting psychological and spiritual consequences from the relationship, including depression and a deep distrust of organized religion. "It's very difficult for me to walk into a church," she said.

The study found that close to one in 10 respondents - male and female - reported having known about clergy sexual misconduct occurring in a house of worship they had attended.

A rising number of denominations are making a conscious effort to address these problems, particularly since the Catholic Church's highly publicized sex scandal involving its clergy.

"Because many people are familiar with some of the high-profile cases of sexual misconduct, most people assume that it is just a matter of a few charismatic leaders preying on vulnerable followers," said Dr. Diana Garland, Dean of the School of Social Work at Baylor University and lead researcher in the study. "What this research tells us, however, is that clergy sexual misconduct with adults is a widespread problem in congregations of all sizes and occurs across denominations. Now that we have a better understanding of the problem, we can start looking at prevention strategies."

At least 36 denominations have established policies and guidelines that identify sexual relations between adult members of the congregation and religious leaders as misconduct that is subject to discipline.

The Rabbinical Assembly, the international association of Conservative rabbis, have created investigating panels to respond to complaints against rabbis. Its leadership told The Washington Post that the "power imbalance between clergy and those to whom they minister makes it clear that sexual contacts in these situations are by definition non-consensual."

In the United Church of Christ, ministers must participate in a workshop on clergy sexual abuse every three years, and those seeking jobs in the ministry must have their names checked against government sex-offender lists, the Rev. J. Bennett Guess, spokesman for the 1.2 million-member denomination, told The Washington Post.

The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia reportedly takes a proactive approach, requiring clergy members, other employees and volunteers to receive training in prevention of adult sexual misconduct and prevention of child abuse, according to spokesman Henry Burt.

The diocese "takes very seriously its obligation to make its churches and institutions safe places for children and adults to grow in their faith in the church," Burt told The Washington Post.

Laws are being changed across the U.S. to address this problem with states like Minnesota and Texas taking the lead by making it clear that clergy sexual misconduct is a criminal offense. In Texas clergy sexual behavior is defined as sexual assault if the religious leader "causes the other person to submit or participate by exploiting the other person's emotional dependency on the clergyman in the clergyman's professional character as spiritual adviser."

Researchers say they don't know whether the incidence of clergy sexual misconduct had changed over the years. Nor do they know how the frequency of  sexual misconduct by religious leaders compares to that which takes place in other well-respected professions and institutions.

But, Garland said, "when you put it with a spiritual leader or moral leader, you've really added a power that we typically don't think about in secular society -- which is that this person speaks for God and interprets God for people. And that really adds a power."

"This is the largest scientific study into clergy sexual misconduct with adults. We hope these findings will prompt congregations to consider adopting policies and procedures designed to protect their members from leaders who abuse their power," Garland said.

"Many people - including the victims themselves - often label incidences of clergy sexual misconduct with adults as 'affairs,'" she continued. "In reality, they are an abuse of spiritual power by the religious leader."

This article was originally published in the September 14, 2009 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper