The role of religion in the social fabric of the United States is changing, and pastors face significant threats to their longevity in the profession. Similarly, the field of clinical pastoral education is changing, moving beyond its Protestant Christian roots. Pastoral identity, or the self-understanding and expression of the pastoral role is an important construct linking religious leadership and pastoral education. Among theological and pastoral educators, there is substantial attention to pastoral identity, but little agreement on what it is and how to get it. This qualitative study seeks to understand pastoral identity as experience by pastoral educators, chosen for their own experience of pastoral identity and their unique perspective as educators. Research questions are: how do participants describe the experiences and factors that contributed to the development of their pastoral identity? How do participants describe their current experiences of pastoral identity? In-depth interviews with eleven participants revealed that key components of pastoral identity include: self-awareness, engagement with suffering, connections with the rituals and resources of one's religious tradition, context, values, and intersection with other identity markers. Pastoral identity is not only experienced as an interior phenomenon but develops and is expressed as a social construct. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]