Introduction
The relevance of psychological type theory and temperament theory for appreciating individual differences among clergy and religious leaders has been introduced at a conceptual level by several studies, including the following three books: Personality type and religious leadership by Oswald and Kroeger (Reference Oswald and Kroeger1988), Be a better leader: Personality type and differences in ministry by Osborne (Reference Osborne2016), and Personality, religion and leadership: The spiritual dimensions of psychological type theory by Ross and Francis (Reference Ross and Francis2020). Within the science of clergy studies, empirical research exploring and testing the application of psychological type theory among various groups of religious leaders emerged during the late 1960s with studies reporting on the profiles of 319 Jewish rabbis (Greenfield, Reference Greenfield1969), 150 professed Roman Catholic sisters (Cabral, Reference Cabral1984), 60 Luteran seminarians (Harbaugh, Reference Harbaugh1984), 146 Catholic seminarians (Holsworth, Reference Holsworth1984), two samples of 47 and 641 Roman Catholic sisters (Bigelow et al., Reference Bigelow, Fitzgerald, Busk, Girault and Avis1988), 310 Lutheran pastors (Nauss, Reference Nauss1989) and 147 Presbyterian ministers from Scotland (Irvine, Reference Irvine1989).
A key development in this field was made by Macdaid, McCaulley and Kainz (Reference Macdaid, McCaulley and Kainz1986) in their publication of an Atlas of type tables. This atlas drew together the available research at that time regarding the psychological type profile of different occupational groups classified within the following categories: art and communication; business and management; counselling and mental health; education; engineering; science and technology; government, justice and ministry; health; industry, service and trade; religion; and students. In the section on religion, the authors assembled 15 type tables, among which the two most significant provided profiles of 1,554 Protestant ministers and 1,298 Catholic priests. Comparison of these two type tables generated insights into what these two groups shared in common and into ways in which they differed. The other 13 type tables profiled: 114 brothers in Roman Catholic religious orders; 1,205 candidates for theology education; 534 clergy defined as ‘all denominations except priests’; 50 directors of religious education; 1,147 nuns and other religious workers; 102 ordained Roman Catholic deacons; 219 priests and monks; 633 Protestant seminarians; 85 Protestants in specialised ministries; 319 rabbis; 79 religious educators across all denominations; 51 Roman Catholic seminarians; and 2,002 sisters in Roman Catholic religious orders.
The introduction of psychological type theory and temperament theory to the science of clergy studies is not without its critics, rooted both within psychological and theological traditions. The conceptual challenges confronting psychological type theory have been well summarised and addressed in a series of papers by Lloyd (Reference Lloyd2007, Reference Lloyd2008, Reference Lloyd2012, Reference Lloyd2015, Reference Lloyd2022, Reference Lloyd2024). The empirical contribution of psychological type theory to the psychology of religion and empirical theology has been well illustrated in a series of edited collections by Village (Reference Village2011a) and by Lewis (Reference Lewis2012, Reference Lewis2015, Reference Lewis2021a, Reference Lewis2021b, Reference Lewis, Burgess and Francis2022).
Introducing Psychological Type Theory
Psychological type theory, rooted in the work of Jung (Reference Jung1971), has been operationalised and developed by a series of psychometric instruments, including the Keirsey Temperament Sorter (Keirsey & Bates, Reference Keirsey and Bates1978), the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (Myers & McCaulley, Reference Myers and McCaulley1985) and the Francis Psychological Type Scales (Francis, Reference Francis2005; Francis, Laycock, & Brewster, Reference Francis, Laycock and Brewster2017). At its core, psychological type theory distinguishes between four bipolar constructs: two orientations (extraversion and introversion), two perceiving functions (sensing and intuition), two judging functions (thinking and feeling) and two attitudes toward the outer world (judging and perceiving). According to this model, the two orientations (extraversion and introversion) and the two attitudes (judging and perceiving) define the context within which the individual human psyche functions. The two perceiving functions (sensing and intuition) and the two judging functions (thinking and feeling) define the mental processes involved in observing and interpreting the world.
First, the two orientations are concerned with where psychological energy is sourced and focused. On the one hand, extraverts (E) are orientated toward the outer world, where they are energised by the people and events around them. They enjoy communicating and thrive in stimulating and energising environments. They focus their attention on what is happening outside themselves. On the other hand, introverts (I) are orientated toward their inner world, where they are energised by their inner concepts and ideas. They enjoy solitude, silence and contemplation. They focus their attention on what is happening in their inner life.
Second, the two perceiving functions are concerned with the way in which people receive information. On the one hand, sensing types (S) prefer to focus on specific details, rather than the overall picture. They are concerned with what they can perceive through their senses. The tend to be practical, down to earth and matter of fact. On the other hand, intuitive types (N) prefer to focus on the possibilities suggested by a situation, perceiving meanings and relationships. They focus on the overall picture, rather than on specific facts and data.
Third, the two judging functions are concerned with the criteria which people employ to make their decisions. On the one hand, thinking types (T) make their decisions based on objective, impersonal logic. They value integrity and justice. They consider conforming to principles to be more important than cultivating harmony. On the other hand, feeling types (F) make their decisions based on subjective, personal values. They value compassion and mercy. They are more concerned to cultivate harmony, than to confirm to abstract principles.
Fourth, the two attitudes toward the outer world identify which of the two sets of functions (that is the perceiving functions, or the judging functions) is preferred in dealings with the outer world. On the one hand, judging types (J) seek to order and to structure their outer world, as they actively evaluate external stimuli. They enjoy routine and established patterns. On the other hand, perceiving types (P) do not seek to order and to structure their outer world, but are more reflective, perceptive and open, as they passively perceive external stimuli. They have a flexible, spontaneous and open-ended approach to life.
According to psychological type theory, each individual needs access to all four functions (sensing, intuition, thinking and feeling) for normal and healthy living. The two perceiving functions (sensing and intuition) are needed to gather information. These are the irrational functions concerned with collecting information, with seeing reality and possibility. The two judging functions (thinking and feeling) are needed to organise and evaluate information. These are the rational functions concerned with making decisions. Although each individual needs to be able to access all four functions, psychological type theory suggests that the relative strengths of these four functions vary from one individual to another. Empirical evidence suggests that individuals will develop preference for one of the perceiving functions (sensing or intuition) and tend to neglect the other, and that they will develop preference for one of the judging functions (thinking or feeling) and tend to neglect the other. Moreover, according to psychological type theory, for each individual either the preferred perceiving function (sensing or intuition) or the preferred judging function (thinking or feeling) takes preference over the other, leading to the emergence of one dominant function which shapes the individual’s dominant approach to life. Dominant sensing shapes the practical person; dominant intuition shapes the imaginative person; dominant feeling shapes the humane person; and dominant thinking shapes the analytic person.
Introducing Temperament Theory
Temperament theory, rooted in the work of Keirsey and Bates (Reference Keirsey and Bates1978), employs some of the building blocks from psychological type theory to propose four basic temperament styles: Epimethean (SJ), Dionysian (SP), Promethean (NT) and Apollonian (NF). Subsequently Oswald and Kroeger (Reference Oswald and Kroeger1988) built on Keirsey and Bates’ characterisation of the four temperaments to create profiles of how these temperaments shape four very different styles of religious leadership.
The Epimethean Temperament (SJ) is styled ‘the conserving, serving pastor’. SJ clergy tend to be the most traditional of all clergy temperaments, bringing stability and continuity in whatever situation they are called to serve. They tend to protect and conserve the traditions inherited from the past. They tend to be good at building community, fostering a sense of loyalty and belonging. They bring order and stability to their congregations, creating plans, developing procedures and formulating policies; and they are keen that these procedures should be followed. They are realists who offer practical and down-to-earth solutions to pastoral problems.
The Dionysian Temperament (SP) is styled ‘the action-oriented pastor’. SP clergy tend to be fun loving and engaged in activity. They have little interest in the abstract, the theoretical and the non-practical aspects of theology and church life. They are flexible and spontaneous people who welcome the unplanned and unpredictable aspects of church life. They seem able to grasp the moment. At heart they work well as entertainers and performers.
The Promethean Temperament (NT) is styled ‘the intellectual, competence-seeking pastor’. NT clergy tend to be academically and intellectually engaged. They are motivated by the search for meaning, for truth and for possibilities. They tend to make good teachers, preachers and advocates for social justice. They look for underlying principles rather than basic applications from their study of scripture. They see the value of opposing views and strive to allow alternative visions to be heard.
The Apollonian Temperament (NF) is styled ‘the authenticity-seeking, relationship-oriented pastor’. NF clergy are attracted to helping roles that deal with human suffering. They want to meet the needs of others and to find personal affirmation in so doing. They can be articulate and inspiring communicators, committed to influencing others by touching their hearts. They have good empathic capacity, interpersonal skills and pastoral counselling techniques. They are able to draw the best out of people and work well as the catalyst or facilitator in the congregation.
Building a New Type Atlas
Building on the initiative established by Macdaid, McCaulley and Kainz (Reference Macdaid, McCaulley and Kainz1986), a connected series of studies has started to develop an atlas of type tables for churches operating in Great Britain and Ireland, including: Apostolic network leaders, with 164 male participants (Kay, Francis, & Robbins, Reference Kay, Francis and Robbins2011); Baptist ministers, with 232 male and 51 female participants (Garland & Village, Reference Garland and Village2022); Church in Wales clergy, with 427 clergymen (Francis, Payne, & Jones, Reference Francis, Payne and Jones2001); with 213 clergymen (Francis, Littler, & Robbins, Reference Francis, Littler and Robbins2010); and with 268 clergymen (Payne & Lewis, Reference Payne and Lewis2015); Church of England clergy, with 626 clergymen and 237 clergywomen (Francis, Craig, et al., Reference Francis, Craig, Whinney, Tilley and Slater2007) with 622 clergymen (Francis, Robbins, et al., Reference Francis, Robbins, Duncan, Whinney, Ruelas and Briseno2010) with 83 clergywomen (Francis, Robbins, & Whinney, Reference Francis, Robbins and Whinney2011), with 97 training incumbents and 98 curates (Tilley et al., Reference Tilley, Francis, Robbins and Jones2011), with 529 clergymen and 518 clergywomen (Village, Reference Village2011b), with 90 curates under the age of forty (Francis & Smith, Reference Francis and Smith2018), with 1,164 clergymen and 307 clergywomen (Francis, Village, & Voas, Reference Francis, Village and Voas2021) and with 77 stipendiary and 53 non-stipendiary clergy (Rutledge, Reference Rutledge2021); Church of England Local Ordained Ministers, with 39 participants (Francis & Holmes, Reference Francis and Holmes2011), with 144 clergywomen (Francis, Robbins, & Jones, Reference Francis, Robbins and Jones2012), and with 56 clergymen and 79 clergywomen (Francis & Village, Reference Francis and Village2012); Church of England full-time hospital chaplains, with 101 participants (Francis, Hancocks, et al., Reference Francis, Hancocks, Swift and Robbins2009); Church of England bishops, with 168 bishops, serving or retired (Francis, Whinney, & Robbins, Reference Francis, Whinney and Robbins2013); Church of England archdeacons, with 186 archdeacons serving or retired (Francis & Whinney, Reference Francis and Whinney2019); Church of England readers, with 108 male and 128 female participants (Francis, Jones, & Robbins, Reference Francis, Jones and Robbins2014), and with 59 male and 96 female participants (Francis, Jones, & Village, Reference Francis, Jones and Village2021); Free Church Ministers, with 148 male and 41 female participants (Francis, Whinney, et al., Reference Francis, Whinney, Burton and Robbins2011); Methodist ministers, with 693 male and 311 female participants (Burton et al., Reference Burton, Francis and Robbins2010) and with 619 male and 312 female participants (Francis, Haley, & McKenna, Reference Francis, Haley and McKenna2023); Methodist local preachers, with 80 male and 62 female participants (Francis & Stevenson, Reference Francis and Stevenson2018); Newfrontiers network of churches, with 134 lead elders (Francis, Gubb, & Robbins, Reference Francis, Gubb and Robbins2009) and 154 leaders (Francis, Robbins, & Ryland, Reference Francis, Robbins and Ryland2012); Roman Catholic priests, with 79 participants (Craig et al., Reference Craig, Duncan and Francis2006) and with 190 participants (Francis & Village, Reference Francis and Village2022); Salvation Army Officers, with 165 male and 269 female participants (ap Siôn & Francis, Reference ap Siôn and Francis2022); and United Reformed Church ministers with 55 male ministers and 38 female ministers (Lewis et al., Reference Lewis, Burgess and Francis2022).
Research Question
The most recent profile of stipendiary parochial clergy serving in the Church of England was published by Francis and Village (under review), drawing on data provided by 591 clergymen and 486 clergywomen who participated in the online survey promoted by the Church Times concerning the pandemic. Among clergymen these data demonstrated clear preferences for judging (76%) over perceiving (24%) and for introversion (61%) over extraversion (39%) and slight preference for intuition (53%) over sensing (48%) and for thinking (53%) over feeling (47%). In terms of temperaments, 42% reported Epimethean (SJ), 28% Apollonian (NF), 24% Promethean (NT) and 6% Dionysian (SP). Among clergywomen these data demonstrated clear preferences for judging (77%) over perceiving (25%), for feeling (66%) over thinking (34%) and for introversion (58%) over extraversion (42%) and slight preference for intuition (54%) over sensing (46%). In terms of temperament, 42% reported Epimethean (SJ), 37% Apollonian (NF), 16% Promethean (NT) and 5% Dionysian (SP).
Since the same survey was conducted within The Episcopal Church (USA), the aim of the present study is to report on the psychological type and temperament profile of a comparable sample of Anglican stipendiary parochial clergy serving there, in order to explore differences and similarities among two groups of Anglican clergy serving on different continents.
Method
Procedure
The Covid-19 & Church-21 survey was originally designed in association with the Church Times to explore the impact of the pandemic on Anglican clergy and laity in England. It was opened on the Qualtrics XM platform on 22 January and closed on 23 July 2021. This survey was slightly shortened and adapted to suit the USA context of the Episcopal Church. There it was publicised and distributed through Virginia Theological Seminary, was live from 1 June to 23 August 2021 and attracted over 5,000 responses from across the USA. An overview of the responses from laity and clergy from The Episcopal Church were published by Village and Francis (Reference Village and Francis2021).
Measures
Psychological type was assessed using the revised version of the Francis Psychological Type and Emotional Temperament Scales, FPTETS-R (Village & Francis, Reference Village and Francis2022, Reference Village and Francis2023a, Reference Village and Francis2023b). This 50-item instrument comprises four sets of 10 forced-choice items related to each of the four components of psychological type: orientation (extraversion or introversion), perceiving process (sensing or intuition), judging process (thinking or feeling) and attitude toward the outer world (judging or perceiving) and 10 items related to emotional temperament (calm or volatile). Alpha reliabilities in this sample ranged from .77 to .87.
Participants
In terms of age, 1% of the clergymen were in their twenties, 11% in their thirties, 17% in their forties, 25% in their fifties, 34% in their sixties and 12% were aged seventy and over; 91% reported as ethnically white; 46% served in suburban or exurban areas, 27% in towns, 13% in inner city and 13% in rural ministry. In terms of age, 5% of the clergywomen were in their thirties, 14% in their forties, 29% in their fifties, 38% in their sixties and 14% were aged seventy or over; 92% reported as ethnically white; 45% served in suburban or exurban areas, 33% in towns, 10% in inner city and 12% in rural ministry.
Analysis
The scientific literature concerned with psychological type has developed a distinctive way of presenting type-related data. The conventional format of ‘type tables’ has been used in the present paper to allow the findings from this study to be compared with other relevant studies in the literature. In these tables the psychological type profiles of clergymen and clergywomen serving in stipendiary parochial ministry in The Episcopal Church (USA) are compared with the psychological type profiles of Church of England clergymen and clergywomen as reported by Francis and Village (under review). The statistical significance of differences between the present sample and the data published by Francis and Village (under review) are tested by means of the Selection Ratio Index (I), an extension of the classic chi-square test (McCaulley, Reference McCaulley1985).
Results
Table 1 presents the type distribution for the 179 stipendiary parochial clergymen serving in The Episcopal Church (USA) who participated in the 2021 survey. The data indicate that these clergymen prefer introversion (68%) over extraversion (32%), intuition (55%) over sensing (45%), feeling (59%) over thinking (41%) and judging (81%) over perceiving (19%). In terms of the dominant functions, 35% were dominant intuitive types, 31% dominant sensing types, 21% dominant feeling types and 13% dominant thinking types. In terms of the 16 complete types, the two most frequently occurring types were ISTJ (18%) and INFJ (17%). In terms of temperament, 41% were Epimethean (SJ), 38% Apollonian (NF), 17% Promethean (NT) and 4% Dionysian (SP).
Note: N = 179 (NB: + = 1% of N).
*p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001.
Table 1 also presents the statistical significance tests comparing the group of clergymen serving in The Episcopal Church with the 591 stipendiary parochial clergymen serving in the Church of England reported by Francis and Village (under review). The main difference between these two groups of clergymen comprised the higher proportion of feeling types among those serving in The Episcopal Church (59% compared with 47% in England). This difference was also reflected by the higher proportion of INFJs serving in The Episcopal Church (17% compared with 9%). There were two significant differences in the distribution among the four temperaments, with 38% reporting NF in the USA, compared with 28% in England and 17% reporting NT in the USA compared with 24% in England. Similar proportions reported SJ in the USA (41%) and in England (42%). Similar proportions reported SP in the USA (4%) and in England (6%).
Table 2 presents the type distribution for the 226 stipendiary parochial clergywomen serving in The Episcopal Church (USA) who participated in the 2021 survey. The data indicate that these clergywomen prefer introversion (62%) over extraversion (38%), intuition (57%) over sensing (43%), feeling (68%) over thinking (32%) and judging (75%) over perceiving (25%). In terms of the dominant functions, 31% were dominant feeling types, 29% dominant sensing types, 28% dominant intuitive types and 12% dominant thinking types. In terms of the 16 complete types, the four most frequently occurring types were ISFJ (16%), ISTJ (13%), INFJ (12%) and INFP (12%). In terms of temperament, 43% were Apollonian (NF), 41% Epimethean (SJ), 13% Promethean (NT) and 2% Dionysian (SP).
Note: N = 226 (NB: + = 1% of N).
*p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001.
Table 2 also presents the statistical significance tests comparing the group of clergywomen serving in The Episcopal Church (USA) with the 486 stipendiary parochial clergywomen serving in the Church of England reported by Francis and Village (under review). There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups.
Discussion and Conclusion
Building on the developing atlas of type tables of clergy serving in Britain and Ireland, the present study was designed to present the psychological type and temperament profile of clergymen and clergywomen serving in stipendiary parochial ministry within The Episcopal Church (USA) and to set this profile along the psychological type and temperament profile of clergymen and clergywomen serving in stipendiary parochial ministry within the Church of England. A strength of this comparison is that both sets of data (in the USA and in England) were established by the same method at roughly the same time. The data point to many similarities among the two groups of clergy. It is on these similarities that this discussion and conclusion will concentrate.
In terms of orientation, Anglican clergy from both sides of the Atlantic preferred introversion: in the USA 68% clergymen and 62% of clergywomen and in England 61% of clergymen and 58% of clergywomen. In both contexts the Anglican Church is likely to build and to nurture an introverted culture, with an emphasis on an inner spirituality. A consequence is that extraverts may feel less at home in the Anglican Church and seek spiritual sustenance elsewhere.
In terms of attitudes, Anglican clergy from both sides of the Atlantic preferred judging: in the USA 81% of clergymen and 75% clergywomen and in England 76% of clergymen and 77% of clergywomen. In both contexts the Anglican Church is likely to build and to nurture a culture that prioritises the application of a judging function (thinking or feeling) in the external world, with an emphasis on order, structure and predictability. A consequence is that perceiving types, who prize flexibility and spontaneity in the external world, may feel less at home in the Anglican Church and seek spiritual sustenance elsewhere.
In terms of the perceiving process, Anglican clergy from both sides of the Atlantic preferred intuition: in the USA 55% of clergymen and 57% of clergywomen, and in England 53% of clergymen and 54% of clergywomen. This preference for intuition among Anglican clergy is of interest for three reasons. First, the growing atlas of clergy type tables from Britain and Ireland showed Anglican clergy to be outliers in terms of preferring intuition. The preference for sensing was higher in other denominations. Second, congregation studies in England found Anglican congregations to be weighted heavily in favour of sensing types (78% of men and 81% of women: see Francis, Robins, & Craig, Reference Francis, Robbins and Craig2011). Third, the psychological type norms for the UK population (Kendall, Reference Kendall1998) also reported a strong preference for sensing (73% of men and 79% of women). Leaders preferring intuition may expect predictable areas of disagreement working with members who prefer sensing. Sensing types prefer what they have experienced before and resist change. Intuitive types easily tire of the familiar and pursue innovation.
In terms of the judging process, Anglican clergy from both sides of the Atlantic tended to prefer feeling: in the UA, 59% of clergymen and 68% of clergywomen and in England 47% of clergymen and 66% of clergywomen. This preference for feeling among Anglican clergy is of practical importance for the following reason. The judging process (thinking and feeling) is the one component of psychological type theory that is reflected in strong sex differences. According to the population norms for the UK 70% of women prefer feeling, compared with 35% of men (Kendall, Reference Kendall1998). It is this comparison that explains why 47% of clergymen in England preferring feeling seems high. With a growing number of female clergy and with male clergy being more likely than men in general to prefer feeling, the Anglican Church is likely to build and to nurture a feeling culture, with the decision-making emphasis seeking harmony rather than striving for justice. A consequence is that those who prefer thinking may feel less at home in the Anglican Church and seek spiritual sustenance elsewhere. This phenomenon may help to explain the disproportionate weighting of Anglican congregations toward women, as evidenced for example by a recent study of the Diocese of Southwark, where overall men accounted for 34% of churchgoers (Francis & Lankshear, Reference Francis, Lankshear, Francis and Lankshear2021). Moreover, the main significant difference between the two groups of clergy is that there is a significantly higher proportion of feeling types among clergymen serving in The Episcopal Church (USA).
In terms of the dominant type profile, the least represented dominant type among Anglican clergy on both sides of the Atlantic was dominant thinking type that accounted for 17% of the clergymen and 12% of the clergywomen in England and for 13% of clergymen and 12% of clergywomen in the USA. Overall, therefore, the deficit in clerical leadership skills is likely to reside in the area of strategic management and rigorous theological analysis.
In terms of temperament theory, two-fifths of Anglican clergy both sides of the Atlantic (41% of clergymen and 41% of clergywomen in the USA and 42% of clergyman and 42% of clergywomen in England) reported the Epimethean (SJ) temperament. On the analysis offered by Oswald and Kroeger (Reference Oswald and Kroeger1988), SJ clergy are styled ‘the conserving, serving pastor’. Here are the trusted guardians of the traditions inherited from the past, a safe pair of hands to ensure that policies and procedures are in place and fully implemented. They are sensitive and practical leaders. In the USA another two-fifths of Anglican clergy (38% of clergymen and 43% of clergywomen) reported Apollonian (NF) temperament. On the analysis offered by Oswald and Kroeger (Reference Oswald and Kroeger1988), NF clergy are styled ‘the authenticity-seeking, relationship-oriented pastor’. Here are pastors with an eye on future possibilities and with the capacity to inspire others to catch that vision. Less in evidence both sides of the Atlantic are Anglican clergy who reported Promethean (NT) temperament or Dionysian (SP) temperament. On the analysis offered by Oswald and Kroeger (Reference Oswald and Kroeger1988) NT clergy are styled ‘the intellectual, competence-seeking pastor’ and SP clergy are styled ‘the action-oriented pastor’. With these two temperaments in short supply, The Episcopal Church (USA) may be under resourced in these areas of ministry and mission.
The limitation with the present study concerns the reliance on data generated through an online survey primarily concerned with exploring the impact of the pandemic on Anglican clergy and laity in England and the USA. This limitation can be addressed by future studies employing more rigorous sampling strategies among clergy serving in The Episcopal Church (USA). For example, if seminaries were to include regular psychological type and temperament profiling over a period of time, accumulated data could build up a comprehensive profile of ministry candidates, employ these data to inform theological education and formation and document the influence of type on ministry trajectories.
Acknowledgements
We thank Jennifer McKenzie and the Virginia Theological Seminary for promoting the survey among the Episcopal Church.
Competing interests
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Ethical approval
Ethical approval was granted by the Research Ethics Committee for the School of Humanities, Religion and Philosophy at York St John University (approval code: HRP-RS-AV-0240-01). All participants had to affirm they were 18 or over and given their informed consent by ticking a box that gave access to the rest of the survey.