Westminster Abbey in London
Anglican Church of the future will be “more tightly managed” and “less inspiring”, scientists say.
The head of the Church will be the clergy that seeks “not to rock the boat.” Such conclusions were made by the authors of the study published in the British journal “Theology”, according to “Rublev”.
The article, titled “Changing behavioral models on the example of representatives of the regular clergy. The study of the psychological profiles” published in the June issue of the journal.
Its authors, Professor Leslie Francis (Leslie J. Francis) and Greg Smith (Greg Smith) from the University of Warwick (UK) investigated the profiles of the “psychological type” and “psychological temperament” 90 assistant vicar, who was ordained deacon ordained to the Church of England and Church of Wales in 2009-2010 and which were then assigned to positions at various parishes in the UK.
The researchers also collected data regarding 35 women assistants vicars appointed in the same years, however, the sample considered is not wide enough to do on the basis of any scientific findings.
The obtained results are compared with data obtained during similar studies carried out in 2007. Then the researchers analyzed the psychological profiles of 627 clergy-men and 237 women in the priesthood.
Assistants vicars was estimated using two methods – typology Myers-Briggs (psychological testing, formed on the basis of Jungian typology in the 1940s and became widespread in the US and Europe) and psychological scales of Francis.
With their help, the researchers found, where they get the vital energy inside themselves or in interactions with others (introversion – extroversion); how they process information – based on a feeling or intuition; how they make decisions – guided by rational arguments or feelings; how they react to the outside world – making it or suffer.
The main conclusion is that scientists do: “the Current generation of young men-priests, much less prefers intuition compared with the clergy in the 2007 survey (42 per cent compared to 62 per cent)”.
Previously, the Church of England published a financial report, in accordance with which the number of churchgoers is decreasing, but the total income of the parish churches – is growing.