The Protestant Ethic in Australia

Summary

A series of five studies is reported to investigate the relationship between religious belief or adherence and psychological characteristics. Samples from 75 to 240 people were used which had at least some claim to general population representativeness. Attributes studied included achievement motivation, task-orientation, success-orientation, Machiavellianism, alienation, dogmatism, authoritarianism, locus of control, neuroticism, social desirability orientation, metaphysical faith, belief in predestination, frugality, belief in the depravity of human nature, and Puritan morality. Twelve different scales measured various aspects of achievement and work motivation. Scales purportedly measuring the Protestant ethic by Blood and by Mirels and Garrett were also included. Not one of the scales showed any Catholic/Protestant differences which were statistically significant. Several, however, differentiated unbelievers from the religious. Unbelievers were those with especially high achievement motivation rather than Protestants; they were also found to be more machiavellian and less authoritarian.