Psychological Reports, 1976, 38, 756-758. @ Psychological Reports 1976
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RELIGIOUS ORTHODOXY A N D THREE PERSONALITY VARIABLES MARK E. HEINTZELMAN AND LAWRENCE A. FEHR University of Cincinnari Summary.-The Brown Modification of the Thouless Test of Religious Orthodoxy and three personality measures were administered to 82 students in introductory psychology. The Manifest Anxiety Scale, Manifest Hostility Scale, and a variation of the Coopersmith Self-esteem Inventory were utilized to determine a profile for individuals with orthodox religious beliefs. The correlation between the Thouless test and the Manifest Hostility Scale was significant in that highly orthodox individuals scored lower than ocher subjects on the Manifest Hostility Scale. There were significant but small correlations among the personality variables but no other trends were noted in relation to religious orthodoxy.
Previous research has presented a somewhat equivocal picture of the person who professes strong religious beliefs. Several investigators have demonstrated that a consistent correlation exists between orthodox religious commitment and a relatively defensive, authoritarian personality (Gregory, 1957; Ranck, 1961; Stanley, 1964). Cline and Richards (1965 ) report that individuals scoring high on the University of California Public Opinion Scales religious measure tend to be literalistic, rigid, dogmatic, inflexible, and conforming. A more recent study (Rohrbaugh & Jessor, 1975) lends support to this finding by characterizing the religious person as conventional, conforming, and accepting of social institutions. Others (Cowen, 1954; Strunk, 1958) have reported a negative correlation between orthodox religiosity and self-esteem scores. The religious individual has been further characterized as being more suspicious (Broen, 1957), acquiescent (Fisher, 1964), and dependent in interpersonal relations (Dreger, 1952 ) than the non-religious person. The above noted findings have not been universally accepted. A recent study (Martin & Nichols, 1962) reported the failure to find a significant correlation between religiosity, defensiveness, and suspiciousness. Brown and Lowe (1951) concluded from their research that the "believer" as a group is more optimistic and generally has better family relations than the "nonbeliever." A final study (Bender, 1958) found that there was a positive correlation between the Allport-Vernon-Lindzey religious measure and two ratings of ego strength in subjects who had been out of college for 15 yr. It is clear that there have been inconsistent findings in regard to the personality attributes associated with the individual that has been typified as being religious. In light of these inconsistencies, it is anticipated that light can be shed on the situation by examining the relationship between a test which
757
RELIGIOUS ORTHODOXY AND PERSONALITY
purports to measure a definitive aspect of religiosity (orthodoxy) and three relatively reliable personality inventories which measure the variables of anxiety, hostility, and self-esteem. METHOD The subjects were 41 male and 41 female students in introductory psychology. The mean age of the group was 20.6 yr. Each subject was administered the Manifest Anxiety Scale, Manifest Hostility Scale, a modified version of the Coopersmith Self-esteem Inventory, and the Brown Modification of the Thouless Test of Religious Orthodoxy in one test session. This was performed during two group administrations. The order of the tests was systematically varied so that order effects could be eliminated. The relationships between the four measures were determined through the use of Pearson correlations. RESULTSAND DISCUSSION The coefficients between the four test measures appear in Table 1. The correlational analysis between scores obtained on the Thouless index of religiosity and the Manifest Anxiety Scale produced a non-significant coefficient. This finding is in agreement with previous research (Brown, 1962) that did not detect any significant relationship between religiosity and manifest anxiety. The significant negative correlation found between orthodox religiosity and manifest hostility seems to support previous findings which have portrayed the religious individual as conventional and conforming. It 'seems logical that an individual who has accepted religious doctrine would be less likely to exhibit hostility than an individual not governed by the same religious mores. In essence, most religions serve to reinforce behavior that is contrary to those behaviors that are measured by the Manifest Hostility Scale. The observed negative correlation between religious orthodoxy and hostility was thus expected. Contrary to several research findings, the present research has demonstrated a non-significant correlation between religious orthodoxy and self-esteem. There are several possible explanations for this finding. One possibiliry is that society has had a liberalizing effect on the doctrine TABLE 1 CORRELATIONCOEFFICIENTS FOR MANIFEST ANXIETY
SCALE,MANIFESTH o s n L ~ nSCALE,THOULESS TEST,AND COOPERSMITH SELF-ESTEEM INVENTORY
Test Measures
Anxiety Hostility Religiosity
'p
< .01.
Anxiety
Hostility
Religiosity
.38*
-.07 -.29*
Self-esteem -.57' -.30' .06
758
M. E HEINTZELMAN
&
L. A. FEHR
of the church. This could have resulted in the religious individual of college age today being less exposed than his predecessors to those stimuli (fundamentalism) which appear to have contributed to the low self-esteem scores that are associated with orthodox religious belief. The college students who have served in previous research may have been exposed to religious environments less supportive of a strong self-concept than present students. In essence, the term "religious orthodoxy" may have a totally different connotation today than it did five years ago in terms of self-esteem and self-regard. The nonsignificant correlation between self-esteem and religious orthodoxy may thus be a strong indication of a changing society. A second possible cause for a non-significant correlation between selfesteem and religious orthodoxy could involve the relative homogeneity of the college population. The majority of the subjects in this and other studies could be typified as white and middle class. This may lead to abnormally large clusters of scores about the mean, yielding a small standard deviation. Very small correlation coefficients are often found in such cases. The present research was initiated to clarify the nature of the religiously orthodox individual. This attempt, while helpful in this respect, has shown the need to examine several factors in more heterogeneous non-college samples to be representative of the population at large. REFERENCES
BENDER, I. E Changes in religious interest: a retest after 15 years. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psvcholoe~.1958. 57.41-46. BROEN, W. E. A fHctor-Ga'lyt>c skd; of religious attitudes. Journal of Abnormal and SocMl Psychology, 1957, 54, 176-179. BROWN,D. G., & Lowa, W. L. Religious beliefs and personality characteristics of college students. Journal o f Social P~ychology, 1951, 33. 103-129. BROWN,L. B. A study of religious belief. British Journal o f Psychology, 1962, 53, 259.277 - - ,- . -. CLINE,V. B., & RICHARDS.1. M. A factor-analytic study of religious belief and behavior. Journal o f Personalitv and Social Psvcholo~v. 1. 569-578. - < . 1965. COWEN,E. L. he negative concept as a personality measure. jou;ial-of Consulting Psychology, 1954, 18, 138-142. DRBGER, R. M. Some personality correlates of religious attitudes as determined by projective techniques. Psychological Monographs, 1952, 16, No. 3 (Whole No. 335). FISHER;S: ' Acquiescence and religiosity. Psychological Report,, 1964, 15, 784. GREGORY, W. E The orthodoxy of the authoritarian personality. Journal of Social Psvcholo~v.1957.45. 217-232. MARTIN,.c., &-NICHOLS, k. C. Personality and religious belief. Journal of Social Psychology, 1962, 56, 3-8. RANCK, J. G. Religious conservatism-liberalism and mental health. Pastoral Psycholo m . 1961. 12. 34-40. ROHRBAEH, J.,'& JESSOR, R. Religiosity in youth: a personal control against deviate behavior. Journal o f Personality, 1975,43, 110-124. STANLEY,G. Personality and attitude correlates of religious conversion. Journal for ;he Scientific Study of Religion. 1964. 4, 60-63. STRUNK,0. Relation between self-report and adolescent religiosity. Psychological Reports, 1958, 4 , 683-686. Accepted February 5, 1976.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RELIGIOUS ORTHODOXY A N D THREE PERSONALITY VARIABLES MARK E. HEINTZELMAN AND LAWRENCE A. FEHR University of Cincinnari Summary.-The Brown Modification of the Thouless Test of Religious Orthodoxy and three personality measures were administered to 82 students in introductory psychology. The Manifest Anxiety Scale, Manifest Hostility Scale, and a variation of the Coopersmith Self-esteem Inventory were utilized to determine a profile for individuals with orthodox religious beliefs. The correlation between the Thouless test and the Manifest Hostility Scale was significant in that highly orthodox individuals scored lower than ocher subjects on the Manifest Hostility Scale. There were significant but small correlations among the personality variables but no other trends were noted in relation to religious orthodoxy.
Previous research has presented a somewhat equivocal picture of the person who professes strong religious beliefs. Several investigators have demonstrated that a consistent correlation exists between orthodox religious commitment and a relatively defensive, authoritarian personality (Gregory, 1957; Ranck, 1961; Stanley, 1964). Cline and Richards (1965 ) report that individuals scoring high on the University of California Public Opinion Scales religious measure tend to be literalistic, rigid, dogmatic, inflexible, and conforming. A more recent study (Rohrbaugh & Jessor, 1975) lends support to this finding by characterizing the religious person as conventional, conforming, and accepting of social institutions. Others (Cowen, 1954; Strunk, 1958) have reported a negative correlation between orthodox religiosity and self-esteem scores. The religious individual has been further characterized as being more suspicious (Broen, 1957), acquiescent (Fisher, 1964), and dependent in interpersonal relations (Dreger, 1952 ) than the non-religious person. The above noted findings have not been universally accepted. A recent study (Martin & Nichols, 1962) reported the failure to find a significant correlation between religiosity, defensiveness, and suspiciousness. Brown and Lowe (1951) concluded from their research that the "believer" as a group is more optimistic and generally has better family relations than the "nonbeliever." A final study (Bender, 1958) found that there was a positive correlation between the Allport-Vernon-Lindzey religious measure and two ratings of ego strength in subjects who had been out of college for 15 yr. It is clear that there have been inconsistent findings in regard to the personality attributes associated with the individual that has been typified as being religious. In light of these inconsistencies, it is anticipated that light can be shed on the situation by examining the relationship between a test which
757
RELIGIOUS ORTHODOXY AND PERSONALITY
purports to measure a definitive aspect of religiosity (orthodoxy) and three relatively reliable personality inventories which measure the variables of anxiety, hostility, and self-esteem. METHOD The subjects were 41 male and 41 female students in introductory psychology. The mean age of the group was 20.6 yr. Each subject was administered the Manifest Anxiety Scale, Manifest Hostility Scale, a modified version of the Coopersmith Self-esteem Inventory, and the Brown Modification of the Thouless Test of Religious Orthodoxy in one test session. This was performed during two group administrations. The order of the tests was systematically varied so that order effects could be eliminated. The relationships between the four measures were determined through the use of Pearson correlations. RESULTSAND DISCUSSION The coefficients between the four test measures appear in Table 1. The correlational analysis between scores obtained on the Thouless index of religiosity and the Manifest Anxiety Scale produced a non-significant coefficient. This finding is in agreement with previous research (Brown, 1962) that did not detect any significant relationship between religiosity and manifest anxiety. The significant negative correlation found between orthodox religiosity and manifest hostility seems to support previous findings which have portrayed the religious individual as conventional and conforming. It 'seems logical that an individual who has accepted religious doctrine would be less likely to exhibit hostility than an individual not governed by the same religious mores. In essence, most religions serve to reinforce behavior that is contrary to those behaviors that are measured by the Manifest Hostility Scale. The observed negative correlation between religious orthodoxy and hostility was thus expected. Contrary to several research findings, the present research has demonstrated a non-significant correlation between religious orthodoxy and self-esteem. There are several possible explanations for this finding. One possibiliry is that society has had a liberalizing effect on the doctrine TABLE 1 CORRELATIONCOEFFICIENTS FOR MANIFEST ANXIETY
SCALE,MANIFESTH o s n L ~ nSCALE,THOULESS TEST,AND COOPERSMITH SELF-ESTEEM INVENTORY
Test Measures
Anxiety Hostility Religiosity
'p
< .01.
Anxiety
Hostility
Religiosity
.38*
-.07 -.29*
Self-esteem -.57' -.30' .06
758
M. E HEINTZELMAN
&
L. A. FEHR
of the church. This could have resulted in the religious individual of college age today being less exposed than his predecessors to those stimuli (fundamentalism) which appear to have contributed to the low self-esteem scores that are associated with orthodox religious belief. The college students who have served in previous research may have been exposed to religious environments less supportive of a strong self-concept than present students. In essence, the term "religious orthodoxy" may have a totally different connotation today than it did five years ago in terms of self-esteem and self-regard. The nonsignificant correlation between self-esteem and religious orthodoxy may thus be a strong indication of a changing society. A second possible cause for a non-significant correlation between selfesteem and religious orthodoxy could involve the relative homogeneity of the college population. The majority of the subjects in this and other studies could be typified as white and middle class. This may lead to abnormally large clusters of scores about the mean, yielding a small standard deviation. Very small correlation coefficients are often found in such cases. The present research was initiated to clarify the nature of the religiously orthodox individual. This attempt, while helpful in this respect, has shown the need to examine several factors in more heterogeneous non-college samples to be representative of the population at large. REFERENCES
BENDER, I. E Changes in religious interest: a retest after 15 years. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psvcholoe~.1958. 57.41-46. BROEN, W. E. A fHctor-Ga'lyt>c skd; of religious attitudes. Journal of Abnormal and SocMl Psychology, 1957, 54, 176-179. BROWN,D. G., & Lowa, W. L. Religious beliefs and personality characteristics of college students. Journal o f Social P~ychology, 1951, 33. 103-129. BROWN,L. B. A study of religious belief. British Journal o f Psychology, 1962, 53, 259.277 - - ,- . -. CLINE,V. B., & RICHARDS.1. M. A factor-analytic study of religious belief and behavior. Journal o f Personalitv and Social Psvcholo~v. 1. 569-578. - < . 1965. COWEN,E. L. he negative concept as a personality measure. jou;ial-of Consulting Psychology, 1954, 18, 138-142. DRBGER, R. M. Some personality correlates of religious attitudes as determined by projective techniques. Psychological Monographs, 1952, 16, No. 3 (Whole No. 335). FISHER;S: ' Acquiescence and religiosity. Psychological Report,, 1964, 15, 784. GREGORY, W. E The orthodoxy of the authoritarian personality. Journal of Social Psvcholo~v.1957.45. 217-232. MARTIN,.c., &-NICHOLS, k. C. Personality and religious belief. Journal of Social Psychology, 1962, 56, 3-8. RANCK, J. G. Religious conservatism-liberalism and mental health. Pastoral Psycholo m . 1961. 12. 34-40. ROHRBAEH, J.,'& JESSOR, R. Religiosity in youth: a personal control against deviate behavior. Journal o f Personality, 1975,43, 110-124. STANLEY,G. Personality and attitude correlates of religious conversion. Journal for ;he Scientific Study of Religion. 1964. 4, 60-63. STRUNK,0. Relation between self-report and adolescent religiosity. Psychological Reports, 1958, 4 , 683-686. Accepted February 5, 1976.
