Are clergy serving yoked congregations more vulnerable to burnout? : a study among clergy serving in the Presbyterian church (USA)

Pressures generated by increasing secularization and decreasing vocations to ordained ministry are resulting across denominations in a growing number of clergy serving more than one congregation. This study assesses the hypothesis that clergy serving more than one congregation are more susceptible to burnout. Data were provided by a sample of 735 clergy serving in The Presbyterian Church (USA) who completed the Francis Burnout Inventory together with the abbreviated Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised. Among these clergy, 82% served one congregation, 13% served two congregations, and 5% served three or more congregations. After controlling for individual differences in age and personality, the data demonstrated that clergy serving yoked congregations experienced no statistically significant differences in susceptibility to burnout, either in terms of levels of emotional exhaustion or in terms of levels of satisfaction in ministry, compared with colleagues serving just one congregation

What happened to the fig tree? : an empirical study in psychological type and biblical hermeneutics

The SIFT method of biblical hermeneutics and liturgical preaching has its roots in Jungian psychological type theory and maintains that the reading and interpretation of text is shaped by individual preferences within the perceiving process (sensing and intuition) and within the evaluating process (thinking and feeling). The present study tests the empirical foundation for this method by examining the way in which three groups of participants familiar with handling scripture (N = 31, 14, and 47) interpret the Marcan narrative concerning the cleansing of the temple and the cursing of the fig tree. The data provide further support for the psychological principles underpinning the SIFT method

The teenage religion and values survey in England and Wales : an overview

The Teenage Religion and Values Survey was conducted throughout the 1990s among young people between the ages of 13 and 15 years. A total of 33,982 young people took part in the survey. As the next phase of this research begins for the twenty-first century this paper looks back at the survey conducted in the 1990s and considers two aspects of the research. First, this paper considers the methodology behind designing such a survey. Second, this paper considers some of the insights generated by the survey under five headings: personality, spiritual health, religious affiliation, belonging without believing, and church leaving

Churchmanship and personality among clergymen in the church in Wales : are Anglo-Catholic priests more feminine?

The aim of the present study is to develop and test a new measure of Anglo-Catholic orientation capable of assessing the extent of the continuing influence of the Anglican-Catholic movement among Anglican clergy and useful for testing theories regarding the association between Anglo-Catholic orientation and personality. Data provided by a sample of 232 clergymen serving in the Church in Wales support the internal consistency reliability of the 21-item Francis-Littler Anglo-Catholic Orientation Scale, and, in terms of the Eysenckian dimensional model of personality, demonstrate that Anglo-Catholic orientation is associated with higher levels of psychological femininity as assessed by the neuroticism scale, but not as assessed by the psychoticism scale

The psychological-type profile of lay church leaders in Australia

A sample of 845 lay church leaders (444 women and 401 men) from a range of 24 different denominations and movements (including house churches and independent churches) completed the Francis Psychological-Type Scales within the context of the 2006 Australian National Church Life Survey. The psychological-type profiles of these lay church leaders were almost identical to the type profiles of 1527 Australian churchgoers (936 women and 591 men) published in an earlier study by Robbins and Francis. The predominant types among female lay church leaders were ISFJ (21%), ESFJ (21%), and ISTJ (18%). The predominant types among male lay church leaders were ISTJ (28%), ISFJ (17%), ESTJ (13%), and ESFJ (12%). The SJ temperament accounted for 67% of the female lay church leaders and for 70% of the male lay church leaders. The strengths and weaknesses of the SJ leadership style are discussed

Prayer, personality and happiness: a study among undergraduate students in Wales

In order to examine the association between prayer and happiness, a sample of 131 undergraduate students attending a university in Wales completed three measures: the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire, the abbreviated Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised, and prayer frequency assessed on a 5-point scale. The data demonstrated a significant positive correlation between prayer frequency and happiness before controlling for individual differences in personality. After controlling for personality, however, this apparent association vanished

Psychological type and attitude towards Celtic Christianity among committed Churchgoers in the United Kingdom: an empirical study

This article takes the burgeoning interest in Celtic Christianity as a key example of the way in which churches may be responding to the changing spiritual and religious landscape in the United Kingdom today and examines the power of psychological type theory to account for variation in the attitude of committed churchgoers to this innovation. Data provided by a sample of 248 Anglican clergy and lay church officers (who completed the Francis Psychological Type Scales together with the Attitude toward Celtic Christianity Scale) demonstrated that intuitive types, feeling types, and perceiving types reported a more positive attitude towards Celtic Christianity than sensing types, thinking types, and judging types. These findings are interpreted to analyse the appeal of Celtic Christianity and to suggest why some committed churchgoers may find this innovation less attractive

The spiritual revolution and suicidal ideation: an empirical enquiry among 13- to 15-year-old adolescents in England and Wales

The association between conventional religiosity and suicide inhibition has been well explored and documented since the pioneering work of Durkheim. Commentators like Heelas and Woodhead point to ways in which conventional religiosity is giving way in England and Wales to a range of alternative spiritualities, including renewed interest in paranormal phenomena. Taking a sample of 3095 13- to 15-year-old adolescents, the present study examines the association between suicidal ideation and both conventional religiosity and paranormal beliefs, after controlling for individual differences in sex, age and personality (extraversion, neuroticism and psychoticism). The data demonstrate that, while conventional religiosity is slightly associated with lower levels of suicidal ideation, paranormal beliefs are strongly associated with higher levels of suicidal ideation

Church tradition and psychological type preferences among Anglicans in England

A sample of 290 individuals attending Evangelical Anglican churches and Anglo-Catholic churches in central England completed the Keirsey Temperament Sorter, a measure of psychological type preferences. Overall, there were clear preferences for sensing over intuition, for feeling over thinking, and for judging over perceiving, which is consistent with the findings of two earlier studies profiling the psychological type of Anglican churchgoers. However, there was also a significantly higher proportion of intuitives among Anglo-Catholics than among Evangelical Anglicans, which is consistent with the greater emphasis in Anglo-Catholic churches on mystery, awe, and the centrality of sacraments in worship which may resonate with the intuitive predisposition. The implications of these findings are discussed for the benefits of breadth and diversity within Anglicanism

Mystical orientation and the perceiving process : a study among Anglican clergymen

This study examines the hypothesised link between mystical orientation and the perceiving process within the Jungian model of psychological type. Data were provided by 232 Anglican clergymen serving in the Church in Wales who completed both the Francis-Louden Mystical Orientation Scale and the Francis Psychological Type Scales. The data demonstrated that intuitive types recorded significantly higher scores than sensing types on the index of mystical orientation, supporting the hypothesis based on Ross' thesis