Who is called to be a bishop? A study in psychological type profiling of bishops in the Church of England

Abstract

A sample of 168 bishops, serving or retired, in the Church of England completed the Francis Psychological Type Scales. The psychological type profile of these bishops was compared with that of 626 Anglican clergymen. The bishops differed significantly from the clergymen on three of the four aspects of psychological type. The bishops were more likely to prefer extraversion (53% compared with 43%), more likely to prefer sensing (49% compared with 38%), and more likely to prefer judging (88% compared with 68%). Overall the SJ temperament was preferred by 47% of the bishops compared with 31% of the clergymen. Moreover, there was a significant difference between diocesan bishops and suffragan bishops in terms of the judging process. While 37% of the suffragan bishops preferred thinking, the proportion rose to 56% among the diocesan bishops. These findings are discussed in light of the Anglican ordinal and in light of the strengths brought to ministry by different psychological types.

Keywords:

• psychology
• religion
• bishops
• personality
• psychological type