The visibility of mission agencies in general and USPG in particular among recently ordained Anglican clergy : an empirical enquiry

Attitudes toward mission agencies in general, and toward the United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (USPG) in particular, were assessed using two 10-item scales completed by 833 recently ordained Anglican clergy from the UK. Clergy were generally positive toward mission agencies and willing for their churches to engage with them, but more reluctant to form personal links. Most clergy felt agencies should give priority to the relief of poverty and to development needs, rather than to spreading specifically Christian beliefs. Results for the USPG indicated more uncertain responses than for mission agencies generally, which probably indicated a lower visibility for this agency among some clergy, especially evangelicals

The psychological temperament of Anglican clergy in ordained local ministry (OLM) : the conserving, serving pastor?

This study draws on psychological type theory as originally proposed by Jung (1971) and psychological temperament theory as proposed by Keirsey and Bates (1978) to explore the hypothesis that ordained local ministers (OLMs) within the Church of England reflect a psychological profile more in keeping with the profile of Church of England congregations than with the profile of established professional mobile clergy serving in the Church of England. Data provided by 135 individuals recently ordained as OLMs (79 women and 56 men) supported the hypothesis. Compared with established professional mobile clergy there is a higher proportion of the Epimethean Temperament (SJ) among OLMs. Oswald and Kroeger (1988) characterise SJ religious leaders as ‘the conserving, serving pastor’. The implications of these findings are discussed for the evolving ministry of the Church of England

Attitude toward homosexuality among Anglicans in England: the effects of theological orientation and personality

Disapproval of homosexuality (homonegativity) was assessed using a four-item summated scale in a sample of 7,295 readers of the Church Times who were regular worshippers at Anglican churches in England. The theological orientation of respondents was assessed on three scales measuring preference for liberal or conservative, catholic or evangelical, and charismatic or non-charismatic expressions of faith. Individual differences in personality were assessed using the abbreviated form of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised (EPQR-A). Scores on the homonegativity scale were generally high, indicating disapproval of same-sex intercourse, same-sex marriage and the ordination or consecration of practising homosexuals. After allowing for sex and age, the main predictors of homonegativity were the three measures of individual theological orientation, each having an independent and additive effect. All four scales of the EPQR-A predicted homonegativity to some extent, but the most important relationships were a negative correlation with the psychoticism scale and a positive correlation with the lie scale. In liberal catholic and broad churches, it appeared that those who were psychologically most susceptible to social conditioning were most likely to be homonegative, but this was not the case in conservative evangelical churches

All in the mind? : psychological, social and religious predictors of civic volunteerism among churchgoers in England

A number of studies have shown links between volunteerism and a range of sociological and religious variables, mostly based on work from the USA. This study of volunteering among 5220 lay Anglicans in England tested the idea that individual differences in personality could predict civic participation even after allowing for the effects of socio-demographic and religious variables on civic participation. Extraversion significantly increased the probability of civic participation, and the number of different areas of activity among those who did participate. Emotional stability (Neuroticism scale) also significantly increased the chances of volunteering, but not the number of areas of activity among participants. Tender- versus tough-mindedness (Psychoticism scale) had no influence on civic participation in what was a generally tender-minded sample. The results suggest that while socio-demographic factors may affect the opportunities for civic participation, personality and theological orientation may affect the propensity of individuals to participate

Psychological type and the pulpit : an empirical enquiry concerning preachers and the SIFT method of biblical hermeneutics

A sample of 389 experienced preachers completed a measure of psychological type. They then read Mark 1:29-39 and recorded their evaluations of the four reflections on this passage proposed by Francis (1997) and which were derived from the SIFT method of biblical hermeneutics and liturgical preaching. Three main conclusions are drawn from these data. First, compared with the United Kingdom population norms, preachers within this sample were significantly more likely to prefer introversion, intuition, feeling and judging. Second, preachers were four times more likely to prefer a sensing interpretation of the text rather than a thinking interpretation, emphasising the richness of the narrative rather than facing the theological questions posed by it. Third, there was little evidence to suggest that preachers were less likely to appreciate interpretations consonant with their less preferred or inferior function than those consonant with their most preferred or dominant function. In this sense, the richness of the SIFT method should be accessible to preachers of all psychological types

Assessing outgroup prejudice among secondary school pupils in northern England : introducing the Outgroup Prejudice Index

The Outgroup Prejudice Index is a six-item scale that uses social distance to assess prejudice towards ethnic and religious out groups among Asians and Whites. It was developed among a sample of 2982 teenagers attending schools in northern England who indicated their religion as either ‘Muslim’, ‘Christian’ or ‘no religion’. The scale demonstrated internal consistency reliability among both Asian (Cronbach’s alpha = .78) and White (Cronbach’s alpha = .85) pupils. The scale demonstrated construct validity in two ways: scores were correlated with a second scale based on stereotyped attitudes, and were also lower among those with friends in outgroups, suggesting the index was a valid measure of ethnic or religious outgroup prejudice

Statistics for evidence-based policy in the Church of England : predicting diocesan performance

This study computed the percentage changes recorded on six separate performance indicators between 1991 and 2000 in order to calculate the effect of the Decade of Evangelism on the mainland dioceses of the Church of England. The performance indicators were usual Sunday attendance, Easter Sunday communicants, Christmas communicants, electoral roll membership, total baptism figures, and total confirmation figures. Statistical procedures (including cluster analysis, analysis of variance, canonical correlation analysis, and multiple regression) were then employed in order to identify from the range of variables routinely collected by the central church authorities policy-related factors associated with church growth (or at least reduced decline) over this period. These analyses identified four areas, concerned with expanding non-stipendiary ministry, with encouraging the ordination of women, with resisting church closure, and with promoting a financial policy that includes planned subscriptions and charitable giving. These conclusions are offered as an applied example of using statistics as a tool for mission and as the basis for evidence-based policy

Living in sin? : religion and cohabitation in Britain 1985-2005

Frequency of cohabitation among 13,703 adults from the British Social Attitudes dataset for 1985-2005 peaked at around 26-30 years of age, and increased significantly over the period of study. Cohabitation frequency was compared between those of no religious affiliation and Christian affiliates who (a) attended church at least once a month, (b) attended church, but less than once a month, and (c) never attended church. Active Christians were 3.2 times less likely to cohabit than non-affiliates, and rates of cohabitation have remained stable over time in this group. Christian affiliates who never attended church were 1.2 times less likely to cohabit than non-affiliates, suggesting that even affiliation without attendance may indicate greater affinity to Christian moral attitudes compared with non-affiliates

Psychological type profile of Roman Catholic priests : an empirical enquiry in the United States

This study explores the psychological type profile of Roman Catholic priests serving in the United States, drawing on data provided by 55 priests who completed the Francis Psychological Type Scales. The data demonstrated clear preferences for introversion (67 %), sensing (64 %), and judging (91 %), and for a balance between thinking (49 %) and feeling (51 %). A very high proportion of priests reported preferences for ISTJ (27 %), compared with 16 % of men in the U.S. population. Implications of these findings are discussed for ministry in the Roman Catholic Church

The usefulness of Visitor Expectations Type Scales (VETS) for tourist segmentation : the case of cathedral visitors

This study applies Jungian psychological type theory to assess and to interpret the expectations of cathedral visitors. The Visitor Expectations Type Scales were developed among 35 individuals trained and qualified as type practitioners and then tested among a sample of 157 visitors who also completed the Francis Psychological Type Scales. The data demonstrated: the coherence and internal consistency reliability of the Visitor Expectations Type Scales; the particular emphases placed by cathedral visitors on introverted expectations, feeling expectations, and perceiving expectations; and the complex relationship between visitor expectations (conceptualised in psychological type categories) and their personal psychological type profile. The Visitor Expectations Type Scales are commended as providing a more valid assessment of the psychographic segmentation of cathedral visitors than could be provided simply by the administration of a recognised measure of psychological type. Such assessment has implications for the marketing and management of cathedrals within the tourism industry