scholarly journals The Turn Toward Extraversion: The Changing Psychological Profile of Anglican Clergy

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-104
Author(s):  
Leslie J. Francis ◽  
Andrew Village ◽  
David Voas
Keyword(s):  
Church Growth ◽  
Church Of England ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Psychological Type ◽  
Ethnic Background ◽  
Psychological Profile ◽  
Slight Tendency ◽  
Selection For ◽  
Slight Growth ◽  
The Church

Abstract Recent research has drawn attention to two features associated with extraversion in Anglican ministry. Extraverts are under-represented among Anglican clergy. Extravert leaders are associated with church growth. The present reanalysis of data collected within the Church Growth Research Programme from 1,372 stipendiary clergy serving in the Church of England who were aged 70 or under demonstrated that in recent decades there has been a slight tendency for the Church of England to ordain more extraverts, a feature that cannot simply be explained by the reduced numbers of Anglo-Catholics (who are more likely to be introverts) or growth in charismatic influence. This slight growth, however, has been insufficient to address what may be interpreted as covert discrimination against extraverts in selection for ordination. It is argued that a commitment to inclusivity in recruiting clergy might need to take account of psychological type characteristics of those presenting for selection as much as monitoring their ethnic background.

scholarly journals Liberalism and Conservatism in Relation to Psychological Type among Church of England Clergy

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 138-154
Author(s):  
Andrew Village
Keyword(s):  
Church Growth ◽  
Church Of England ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Psychological Type ◽  
Beliefs And Practices ◽  
Church Congregations ◽  
The Church ◽  
Church Tradition

Abstract Liberalism and conservatism have been important stances that have shaped doctrinal, moral and ecclesial beliefs and practices in Christianity. In the Church of England, Anglo-catholics are generally more liberal, and evangelicals more conservative, than those from broad-church congregations. This paper tests the idea that psychological preference may also partly explain liberalism or conservatism in the Church of England. Data from 1,389 clergy, collected as part of the 2013 Church Growth Research Programme, were used to categorise individuals by church tradition (Anglo-catholic, broad church or evangelical), whether or not they had an Epimethean psychological temperament, and whether or not they preferred thinking over feeling in their psychological judging process. Epimetheans and those who preferred thinking were more likely to rate themselves as conservative rather than liberal. Conservatism was associated with being Epimethean among those who were Anglo-catholic or broad-church, but with preference for thinking over feeling among evangelicals.

Changing patterns in recruitment to stipendiary ministry: A study in psychological profiling

Theology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 121 (4) ◽  
pp. 268-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leslie J. Francis ◽  
Greg Smith
Keyword(s):  
Church Of England ◽  
Psychological Type ◽  
Psychological Profile ◽  
Transformative Development ◽  
The Future ◽  
Psychological Profiling ◽  
Changing Patterns ◽  
The Church

This article tests the hypothesis that the Church of England may be recruiting into stipendiary ministry a different psychological profile of clergy to respond to the changing demands of parochial ministry. Using the Francis Psychological Type Scales, the profiles of 90 male and 35 female curates under the age of 40 ordained into stipendiary ministry in 2009 and 2010 were compared with the profiles of 626 clergymen and 237 clergywomen reported in a study published in 2007. The major difference between the two groups concerns the significantly higher proportions of sensing types and the Epimethean temperament (SJ) among the curates. These shifts in psychological type and temperament promise a Church for the future that is more tightly managed but less inspirational and less responsive to transformative development.

scholarly journals The Psychological Profile of Church of England Male Archdeacons at the Beginning of the Twenty-first Century: Drawing on Psychological Type and Temperament Theory

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-92
Author(s):  
Leslie J. Francis ◽  
Michael Whinney
Keyword(s):  
Church Of England ◽  
Leadership Skills ◽  
Psychological Type ◽  
Visionary Leadership ◽  
First Century ◽  
Psychological Profile ◽  
Recent Discussion ◽  
Effective Administration ◽  
Temperament Theory ◽  
The Church

AbstractRecent discussion and research has pointed to the changing functions of archdeacons within the Church of England as the role has become expanded to combine both the traditional statutory functions with flexible and visionary leadership skills within a changing church. This study draws on data collected in 2009 from 186 active and retired male archdeacons in order to assess the psychological profile established by that time. Compared with the psychological profile of 626 clergymen, male archdeacons were much more likely to prefer the SJ temperament (60 per cent compared with 31 per cent), a temperament ideally suited for effective administration of the statutory functions. As a consequence, preference for intuition was lower among male archdeacons (38 per cent compared with 62 per cent), as was preference for perceiving (9 per cent compared with 32 per cent), qualities core for flexibility and visionary leadership.

scholarly journals Stress Levels among Anglican Clergy: The Beneficial Effects of Feeling Supported

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 265-287
Author(s):  
Leslie J. Francis ◽  
Andrew Village ◽  
David Voas
Keyword(s):  
Negative Affect ◽  
Church Growth ◽  
Positive Affect ◽  
Church Of England ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Formal Support ◽  
Support Mechanisms ◽  
The Church

Abstract The present study draws on data generated by the Church Growth Research Programme among 1,268 full-time stipendiary Church of England clergy aged 68 or under to test the extent to which the sense of feeling supported by professional advisers (positive affect) may offset the sense of feeling stressed (negative affect), after taking into account a range of personal, psychological, environmental and theological or ecclesial factors. The data found that the sense of feeling supported by professional advisers reduced the levels of self-reported stress after controlling for personal, psychological, environmental, and theological or ecclesial factors. The implications of these findings for the provision of formal support mechanisms within dioceses is discussed.

scholarly journals The Psychological Temperament of Anglican Clergy in Ordained Local Ministry (OLM): The Conserving, Serving Pastor?

2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leslie J. Francis ◽  
Andrew Village
Keyword(s):  
Type Theory ◽  
Church Of England ◽  
Psychological Type ◽  
Psychological Profile ◽  
Religious Leaders ◽  
Temperament Theory ◽  
The Church

Abstract 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.

Safeguarding Tradition: Psychological Type Preferences of Male Vergers in the Church of England

2006 ◽  
Vol 54 (5) ◽  
pp. 457-463 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte L Craig ◽  
Bruce Duncan ◽  
Leslie J Francis
Keyword(s):  
Church Of England ◽  
Psychological Type ◽  
The Church

scholarly journals Reading and proclaiming the Advent call of John the Baptist: An empirical enquiry employing the SIFT method

2014 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leslie J. Francis ◽  
Greg Smith
Keyword(s):  
Type Theory ◽  
Church Of England ◽  
Psychological Type ◽  
Myers Briggs Type Indicator ◽  
Biblical Hermeneutics ◽  
John The Baptist ◽  
Type Indicator ◽  
Clergy Training ◽  
The One ◽  
The Church

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 among a sample of clergy (training incumbents and curates) serving in the one Diocese of the Church of England (N = 22). After completing the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, the clergy worked in groups (designed to cluster individuals who shared similar psychological type characteristics) to reflect on and to discuss the Advent call of John the Baptist. The Marcan account was chosen for the exercise exploring the perceiving functions (sensing and intuition) in light of its rich narrative. The Lucan account was chosen for the exercise exploring the judging functions (thinking and feeling) in light of the challenges offered by the passage. In accordance with the theory, the data confirmed characteristic differences between the approaches of sensing types and intuitive types, and between the approaches of thinking types and feeling types.

scholarly journals The influence of psychological type preferences on readers trying to imagine themselves in a New Testament healing story

2009 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Village
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Church Of England ◽  
Psychological Type ◽  
The Church ◽  
Do So

A sample of 404 Anglicans from a variety of church traditions within the Church of England was asked if they could imagine themselves into a healing story from Mark 9:14–29 by identifying with one of the characters in it. Around 65% could do so (‘imaginers’) and 35% could not. The likelihood of being an imaginer was higher among (i) women than among men, (ii) those who preferred intuition to sensing or feeling to thinking, and (iii) those who were most charismatically active. Readers with intuition as their dominant function were most likely to be imaginers, while those with thinking as their dominant function were least likely to be so.

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