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I don't know, but I LOVE the question.

Do Presbyterian ministers beat their wife’s.

I don't know the answer, but i LOVE the question you are asking..

"Probably" beat their wives? I think there is a "possibility" that she is a shoplifter. And that it is "possible" that Rowan Williams is a serial killer.
I mean, if we just have to stick with probable and possible, think of the headlines! Go for it Will!

GV

I think there's a big difference between 'probably' and 'possibly'. The bishop was right in her comment. With 600 men in a room, you can say that some probably beat their wives, given the stats we have on the prevalence of male domestic violence. add in the fact that some are fundamentalists, and the probabilty rises. After all, research from the evangelical alliance indicates that domestic violence is more common in fundamentalist homes.

Those with an interest in the matter may find it amusing (as I did) to search Christian Domestic Discipline on the Web. Obviously some evangelicals have a little more fun than one might imagine...

How many women are there in the whole of Lambeth? A few are bound to be shoplifters.
How many men in England? I think five are meant to be five active serial killers at any one time - and Wiliams has the perfect cover. Think of the weaponry he could conceal. And a lot of serial killers are charming individuals who appear harmless. That's how they lure their prey. It's possible, I tell you!
Even if it isn't true, it would make a good movie, you have to admit.

G Veale

Augustine
Your remarks do require a serious response, so
1) To say that with 600 men in a room, there is a greater than 50% chance that one beats his wife assumes that the sample size has been drawn at random. For example, suppose it was a gathering of celibate monks.
2) I am unaware of the research that you point to, but to be relevant to Lambeth it would have to show that those in Evangelical leadership are more likely to be involved in domestic violence.
3) I have read comments about domestic violence being more common in Fundamentalist homes several times (Mary van Leeuwen makes great play on this). Apart from the difficulty in defining "fundamentalist", further research by Brad Wilcox and others has shown that Active Evangelicals are less likely to be involved in domestic abuse than the norm, and compare very well to other Christian traditions. However, Nominal Evangelicals (those who rarely attend Church, pray less etc.) are more likely to be involved in domestic violence, than Nominal Christians in other traditions.
4) In other words, the picture is much more complex than you imply. Those who "internalise" the values of their Church behave very differently than those who merely identify themselves with a particular tradition. (Michael Argyle, "Psychology and Religion").
5) Of course, most of the research applies to North American Christianity. But I think that evangelical values and domestic violence are not causally connected, if we are talking about those who internalise those values. (This even goes for Evangelical's who promote concepts like "Soft Patriarchy")
6) Evangelicals would need to establish why nominal members behave so badly (on average) - this behavior goes beyond domestic abuse.
7) However, I am grateful that I am not having to respond to the "latest research", which is in fact over a quarter of a century old

Graham Veale

Aug
Point 7 was a bit too sharp. My apologies.

GV