Psychological type and prayer preferences: A study among Anglican clergy in the United Kingdom

Abstract

st\c\articles\mydocs\mr\psych type and prayer Psychological type and prayer preferences 2 SummaryThis study applies the framework of Jungian psychological type theory to define eight aspects of prayer preference, namely: introverted prayer, extraverted prayer, sensing prayer, intuitive prayer, feeling prayer, thinking prayer, judging prayer, and perceiving prayer. On the basis of data provided by 1,476 newly ordained Anglican clergy from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales eight seven-item scales were developed to access these aspects of prayer preferences.Significant correlations were found between each prayer preference and the relevant aspect of psychological type accessed by the Keirsey Temperament Sorter. These data support the theory that psychological type influences the way in which people pray.Psychological type and prayer preferences 3 Psychological type and prayer preferences:A study among Anglican clergy in the United KingdomThe study of prayer played a central and formative role in the early empirical, scientific and statistical examination of religion during the later half of the nineteenth century.Galton"s pioneering statistical enquiries regarding the subjective effects of prayer on those doing the praying and the objective effects of prayer on those for whom prayers were offered generated considerable interest and debate (see Galton, 1869Galton, , 1872Galton, , 1883Means, 1876).Compared with this early and promising start, several commentators writing a century later noted the lack of contemporary research building on this pioneering tradition (see Finney & Maloney, 1985;Hood, Morris, & Watson, 1987Poloma & Pendleton, 1989;Janssen, de Hart, & den Draak, 1989). During the 1990s and the first decade of the twenty-first century, however, renewed interest has emerged in the empirical investigation of prayer in general and within the psychology of religion in particular, as illustrated, for example, by Current research within the psychology of prayer is beginning to develop the field in two significant ways. The first development concerns the definition and operationalisation of prayer in more nuanced and in more subtle ways than could be achieved by the relatively simple measurement of prayer frequency. The second development concerns the contextualisation of prayer research within frameworks proposed by coherent models of personality and individual differences. The intention of the present discussion is to illustrate these two significant developments and then to build on them in a novel manner. Types of prayerPsychological type and prayer preferences 4

Learning relationships: Church of England curates and training incumbents applying the SIFT approach to the Road to Emmaus

“…In this context Francis and Payne (2002) explored clergy preferences for different ministry styles as assessed by the PIMS. Francis and Robbins (2008) explored clergy preferences for different ways of praying through the Prayer Preference Index. Then Tilley et al (2011) The second body of knowledge concerns practical ways in which psychological type theory may provide a theoretical framework through which creative experimental learning may be designed to enable curates and training incumbents to explore similarities and differences in their approaches to conceptualising and implementing Christian vocation and ministry.…”

“…Two studies by Francis and Payne (2002) and Francis and Robbins (2008) employed psychological type theory to conceptualise different approaches that clergy may adopt to ministry and to prayer. In the first of these two studies, Francis and Payne (2002) developed the Payne Index of Ministry Styles (PIMS).…”

“…In the second of these two studies, Francis and Robbins (2008) developed the Prayer Preference Index. To develop a set of prayer preference scales, Francis and Robbins selected eights sets of seven statements from a wider initial pool to operationalise each of the eight functions proposed by psychological type theory, as illustrated by the following examples: Belonging to a prayer group energises me (extraversion); I am energised by praying in silence (introversion); My prayer life is enhanced by an awareness of my posture (sensing); My prayer life is enhanced by using my imagination (intuition); My prayer life is shaped in my mind (thinking); My prayer life is shaped in my heart (feeling); I often follow a set pattern of praying (judging); I often pray what comes into my mind at the time (perceiving).…”

“…Building on the research tradition illustrated by Francis and Payne (2002) and Francis and Robbins (2008), Tilley et al (2011) developed the Tilley Index of Training Expectations (TITE). To develop this index Tilley, Francis, Robbins and Jones selected eight sets of 10 statements from a wider pool to operationalise each of the eight functions proposed by psychological type theory, as illustrated by the following examples: My training incumbent expected me easily to form friendships with different people (extraversion); My training incumbent expected me to work well in solitude (introversion); My training incumbent expected me to pay attention to detail (sensing); My training incumbent expected me to be imaginative and speculative (intuition); My training incumbent expected me to enjoy persuading people by arguments (thinking); My training incumbent expected me to value compassion above frankness (feeling); My training incumbent expected me to have things decided and settled in advance (judging); My training incumbent expected me not to be upset by last-minute changes (perceiving).…”

Religion, Spirituality, and Mental Health

“…Rather, it behoves us to be more explicit about what people are doing when they pray (Brümmer, 2008), and more sophisticated in our ability to identify different kinds of prayer. For example, it has proved possible to correlate personality with different kinds of prayer (Francis et al, 2008), which might in turn suggest ways in which research might give more attention to such relationships with mental disorder. Or, again, images of God (Francis et al, 2001;MacKenna, 2002) -rather than simply belief in (any kind of) God -might prove more discriminatory of positive and negative influences upon mental health.…”