Unless the person confessing or confiding waives the privilege, a clergyman, or other minister of any religion or duly accredited Christian Science practitioner, shall not be allowed* disclose a confession or confidence made to him in his professional character as spiritual advisor.
§ 4505.Confidential communication to clergy privileged.
Article 45. Evidence · Last amended 1965 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 4505 bars a clergy member or Christian Science practitioner from disclosing a confession or confidence made in a professional, spiritual capacity, unless the person who confessed or confided waives that privilege.
Full Text of CPLR 4505
Plain-English Summary
CPLR 4505 protects what a person tells a member of the clergy in confidence while seeking spiritual guidance. Unless that person waives the privilege, the clergy member, or a duly accredited Christian Science practitioner, cannot be compelled, or even allowed, to disclose the confession or confidence.
The privilege belongs to the person who confided, not to the clergy member, which is why only that person can waive it. The section reaches any minister of any religion, not one particular faith, and covers communications made to that person acting as a spiritual advisor.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the clergy privilege in New York?
CPLR 4505 bars a clergyman or Christian Science practitioner from disclosing a confession or confidence made by a person seeking spiritual guidance, unless that person waives the privilege.
Who can waive the clergy privilege?
Only the person who made the confession or confided in the clergy member; the privilege exists for that person's protection, not the clergy member's.
Does the clergy privilege apply to every religion?
Yes. CPLR 4505 covers a clergyman or other minister of any religion, along with a duly accredited Christian Science practitioner.
Can a member of the clergy be forced to testify about a private conversation?
Only if the conversation was not a confession or confidence made in the clergy member's professional character as spiritual advisor, or if the person who confided has waived the privilege.
Does CPLR 4505 protect ordinary conversations with a member of the clergy?
No. It protects confessions or confidences made to the clergy member acting in a professional, spiritual role, not casual conversation.
Advisory Committee Notes
This section is the same as former § 351 except for the change in title and the addition of the waiver provision formerly found in § 354; the concluding phrase “in the course of discipline enjoined by the rules or practice of the religious body to which he belongs” has been stricken and the words “as spiritual advisor” substituted. The former language was ambiguous. It was not clear whether the confession must have been required by the religious body or whether the rule of the religious body must have forbidden the disclosure. As formerly written it was doubtful whether the rule applied to any confessions other than those to a Catholic priest. For a recent statute clarifying the scope of the privilege, see NJ Rev Stat § 2A:81-9 (1951); see also Committee on the Revision of the Law of Evidence, Report to the Supreme Court of New Jersey 76–77 (May 25, 1955); Richardson, Evidence 429 (8th ed, Prince 1955). For a discussion of the changes in the waiver provision see the notes to CPLR § 4504(a).
Amendment History
Add, L 1962, ch 308; amd, L 1965, ch 520, eff June 28, 1965.
Source & verification. Provision text, History, and Advisory
Committee Notes are reproduced verbatim from the Consolidated Laws of New York.
Last verified July 21, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: clergy privilege New Yorkpriest penitent privilege CPLRconfession privilege New York lawChristian Science practitioner privilege