Why did John Donne delay taking holy orders in the Church of England?

John Donne delayed taking holy orders in the Church of England primarily because he felt unworthy of the vocation.1

Following the loss of his public service career due to his secret marriage to Anne More in 1601, Donne spent over a decade in financial hardship. During this period, he repeatedly sought secular employment to support his growing family. Although friends began urging him to enter the clergy as early as 1607, he resisted these suggestions in favor of pursuing a secular path. It was not until 1614, after King James I explicitly refused to grant him any position outside of the church, that Donne accepted his religious calling and was ordained in 1615.1