Fundamentalists and liberals: personality characteristics of Protestant Christians

Author(s): McNally, R. J.

Journal/Book: Pers Indiv Differ. 1998; 24: The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford OX5 1GB, England. Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd. 579-580.

Abstract: Little is known about the personality characteristics of liberal and fundamentalist Protestant Christians. To investigate this issue, we asked attendees of a liberal church and of a fundamentalist church to complete the NEO-FFI. Results indicated that the groups scored similarly on the dimensions of neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness and extraversion. Bu: fundamentalists scored significantly lower than liberals on the dimension of openness to experience (P < 0.001; effect size: r = 0.68), and did so for each item of this subscale. These data suggest a connection between conservative religious beliefs and a general avoidance of novel ideas and experiences.

Note: Article McNally RJ, Harvard Univ, Dept Psychol, 33 Kirkland St, Cambridge,MA 02138 USA

Keyword(s): religion; fundamentalism; personality; NEO-FFI; openness to experience; RELIGIOSITY; PSYCHOTHERAPY; VALUES

Zurück | Weiter