Reading and proclaiming the birth narratives from Luke and Matthew : a study in empirical theology amongst curates and their training incumbents employing the SIFT method

Drawing on Jungian psychological type theory, the SIFT method of biblical hermeneutics and liturgical preaching suggests that the reading and proclaiming of scripture reflects the psychological type preferences of the reader and preacher. This thesis is examined amongst two samples of curates and training incumbents (N = 23, 27), serving in one Diocese of the Church of England, who completed the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Firstly, the narrative of the shepherds from Luke was discussed by groups organised according to scores on the perceiving process. In accordance with the theory, sensing types focused on details in the passage, but could reach no consensus on the larger picture, and intuitive types quickly identified an imaginative, integrative theme, but showed little interest in the details. Secondly, the narrative of the massacre of the infants from Matthew was discussed by groups organised according to scores on the judging process. In accordance with theory, the thinking types identified and analysed the big themes raised by the passage (political power, theodicy, obedience), whilst the feeling types placed much more emphasis on the impact that the passage may have on members of the congregation mourning the death of their child or grandchild

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

Growth or decline in the Church of England during the decade of Evangelism: did the Churchmanship of the Bishop matter?

The Decade of Evangelism occupied the attention of the Church of England throughout the 1990s. The present study employs the statistics routinely published by the Church of England in order to assess two matters: the extent to which these statistics suggest that the 43 individual dioceses finished the decade in a stronger or weaker position than they had entered it and the extent to which, according to these statistics, the performance of dioceses led by bishops shaped in the Evangelical tradition differed from the performance of dioceses led by bishops shaped in the Catholic tradition. The data demonstrated that the majority of dioceses were performing less effectively at the end of the decade than at the beginning, in terms of a range of membership statistics, and that the rate of decline varied considerably from one diocese to another. The only exception to the trend was provided by the diocese of London, which experienced some growth. The data also demonstrated that little depended on the churchmanship of the diocesan bishop in shaping diocesan outcomes on the performance indicators employed in the study

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

Contacting the spirits of the dead: paranormal belief and the teenage worldview

A number of previous studies have examined both the overall level of belief expressed by young people in the paranormal and the major demographic predictors of such belief. Building on this research tradition, the present study examines how one specific paranormal belief concerning contact with the spirits of the dead integrates with the wider teenage worldview. Data provided by 33,982 pupils age 13 to 15 years throughout England and Wales demonstrated that almost one in three young people (31%) believed that it is possible to contact the spirits of the dead. Compared with young people who did not share this belief, the young people who believed in the possibility of contacting the spirits of the dead displayed lower psychological wellbeing, higher anxiety, greater isolation, greater alienation, less positive social attitudes, and less socially conforming lifestyles. Overall, paranormal beliefs seem to be associated with a less healthy worldview, in both personal and social terms

An anatomy of change : profiling cohort difference in beliefs and attitudes among Anglicans in England

Conservatism in theological belief, moral values and attitude toward ecclesiastical practices was measured in a sample of 5967 ordained and lay Anglicans in the Church of England. Average scores were compared between those who classed themselves as Anglo-catholic, broad church or evangelical, and by six different age cohorts. Overall, most measures of conservatism showed decline among more recent cohorts, but there were marked differences between traditions. Younger evangelicals showed little or no decline in theological or moral conservatism, and, in the case of Bible beliefs, were more conservative than their older counterparts. In ecclesiastical variables, however, Anglo-catholics were often more conservative and younger evangelicals showed less conservatism than other traditions or older evangelicals. The findings suggest that the divide between traditions is increasing among younger generations mainly because those in Anglo-catholic and broad-church traditions are becoming more liberal on theological or moral matters, whereas evangelicals are maintaining traditional conservative views of theology and morality but becoming less traditional in matters ecclesiastical

The missionary journey of Mark 6 and the experience of ministry in today’s world : an empirical study in biblical hermeneutics among Anglican clergy

This study explores the connection between dominant psychological type preferences and reader interpretation of biblical text. Working in type-alike groups (dominant sensing, dominant intuition, dominant feeling and dominant thinking) a group of 40 Anglican clergy (20 curates and 20 training incumbents) were invited to employ their strongest function to engage conversation between Mark’s account of Jesus sending out the disciples (Mark 6: 6b-16) and the experience of ministry in today’s world. The data supported the hermeneutical theory proposed by the SIFT approach to biblical interpretation and liturgical preaching by demonstrating the four clear and distinctive voices of sensing, intuition, feeling and thinking

Experiencing and reflecting on thinking and feeling in pastoral care : deploying psychological type theory in continuing ministerial formation

Psychological type theory suggests that the two contrasting judging functions of thinking and feeling may be reflected in different approaches to and different practices of pastoral care. The present study describes an exercise designed to help clergy experience and explore these differences and observes and analyses the responses of two groups of clergy (curates and training incumbents) who participated in the exercise (N = 27, 15). The data commend the experience for wider application

Empirical explorations into biblical theologies of grace : employing the SIFT approach among Anglican clergy

This qualitative study was positioned within an emerging scientific field concerned with empirical explorations into theologies of grace. The theoretical framework was provided by the SIFT (sensing, intuition, thinking, and feeling) approach to biblical hermeneutics, an approach rooted in reader-perspective hermeneutical theory and in Jungian psychological type theory, that explores the distinctive readings of sensing perception and intuitive perception and the distinctive readings of thinking evaluation and feeling evaluation. The empirical methodology was provided by developing a research tradition concerned with applying the SIFT approach to biblical text. In this study, a group of 32 Anglican clergy were invited to work in type-alike groups to explore biblical theologies of grace. Dividing into three workshops according to their preferences for sensing and intuition, the clergy explored the messages of grace in Matthew 6: 25-30 (birds and lilies). Dividing into three workshops according to their preferences for thinking and feeling, the clergy explored the messages of grace in Matthew 20: 1-15 (labourers in the vineyard). The rich data gathered from these workshops generated insight into contemporary theologies of grace and also confirmed the hypothesis that scriptural reading and interpretation may be shaped by the reader’s psychological type preference. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved