Some months back, I remember reading about a wave of homiletic plagiarism that was hitting, of all places, Poland. But it’s more widespread (especially these days) than many people in the pews may think.

And it’s not just Catholics, as the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports:

Ministers moving to a new church have a long tradition of dusting off some of their favorite homilies from the past. But in these electronic days, that’s just where the recycling begins.

Clergy who run short of time or inspiration can turn to a plethora of websites offering ideas, outlines and, if necessary, entire sermons that can be downloaded in a ready-to-read-Sunday-morning format.

Users can search for sermons based on denomination (Assembly of God to Wesleyan), event (marriage or funeral), topic, Bible passage or even a particular day (from Yom Kippur to Mother’s Day). SermonSearch.com has more than 100,000 subscribers paying $21.95 a month to search and download from its library of 20,000-plus sermons.

We know what you’re thinking: Isn’t this plagiarism?

The arrival of downloadable sermons throws religious leaders into the debate that has bedeviled college campuses since the first term paper went online. But where taking a term paper is clearly cheating, the sharing of sermons apparently isn’t. Some preachers see it as a compliment. Even seminaries have a love-hate relationship with it.

“We used to trade information face to face, now we do it online,” said the Rev. Dave Ridder, dean of Bethel Seminary in St. Paul. “But that raises the question of when does borrowing cross the line, and that can be a very thin line to walk. We encourage students to acknowledge the source of an idea, even if they make it their own. They owe that to the congregation.”

Some congregations are unforgiving. “I have heard of ministers getting fired for this,” Ridder said. “Their congregations say, ‘If you’re just going to read someone else’s writing, what are we paying you for?'”

But at Bethel Seminary, professors rave about the potential educational value the databases offer.

“It’s like law students looking at case studies,” Ridder said. Through the online services, seminary students “can learn from the best by studying and analyzing the work of some of the most successful preachers in the country. We’ve always encouraged students to go out and listen to other preachers. Now they can do it online.”

Of course, not every preacher who logs on is looking for enlightenment. “A preacher gets in a jam: It’s Saturday night and you need a sermon for Sunday morning and, well, there you go,” he said.

There’s much more at the link.