Congregational bonding social capital and psychological type: an empirical enquiry among Australian churchgoers

Abstract

This study explores the variation in levels of bonding social capital experienced by individual churchgoers, drawing on data generated by the Australian National Church Life Survey, and employing a five-item measure of church-related bonding social capital. Data provided by 2,065 Australian churchgoers are used to test the thesis that individual differences in bonding social capital are related to a psychological model of psychological types (employing the Jungian distinctions). The data demonstrated that higher levels of bonding social capital were found among extraverts (compared with introverts), among intuitive types (compared with sensing types) and among feeling types (compared with thinking types), but no significant differences were found between judging types and perceiving types.

Fresh Expressions

“…Psychological type theory has been applied in congregational studies by empirical research: conducted in North America by Gerhardt (1983), Rehak (1998), (Delis-Bulhoes, 1990), Ross (1993Ross ( , 1995, and Bramer and Ross (2012); conducted in the United Kingdom by Craig, Francis, Bailey, and Robbins (2003), Francis, Duncan, Craig, and Luffman (2004), Francis, Robbins, Williams, and Williams (2007), Craig (2011), Village, Baker, andHowat (2012), , and Francis (2013); and conducted in Australia by Francis (2011, 2012), and Robbins, Francis, and Powell (2012).…”

Psychological type, religion, and culture: Theoretical and empirical perspectives

“…Bramer and Ross (2012) report the psychological type profile of a sample of 177 Evangelical Protestants in Canada. Robbins, Francis, and Powell (2012b) present the psychological type profile of a sample of 2065 Australian churchgoers. describe the psychological type profile of a sample of 1867 Anglican churchgoers in England.…”

Religious experience and religious motivation among Catholic and mainstream Protestant churchgoers in Australia: testing and applying five short measures

“…The Australian National Church Life Survey has established a strong tradition in designing and conducting congregation surveys that draw on theological theory, sociological theory, and psychological theory. Influence from the psychology of religion within the National Church Life Survey has been seen perhaps most strongly in the way in which psychological type theory and measurement has been prominent in a number of published outputs from analyses conducted not only among churchgoers but also among church leaders (Robbins & Francis, 2011;Robbins, Francis, & Powell, 2012a, 2012bPowell & Pepper, 2015;Robbins & Hancock, 2015). The 2011 National Church Life Survey extended its application of theory and measurement drawing on the psychology of religion by including measures of religious motivation and religious experience.…”