Biblical literalism among Anglican clergy: what is the role of psychological type?

Abstract

The SIFT method of preaching argues that preachers should attend to the different learning styles implied by psychological type theory when preparing and delivering sermons. The evidence to date that supports the theory behind the method has mainly been based on offering readers of known psychological type a range of interpretations specifically created to appeal to particular type preferences. This paper extends these studies by looking at how a more general interpretative strategy (literalism) is related to psychological type preferences. A sample of 1039 recently ordained Anglican clergy in the UK completed the Francis Psychological Type Scales and a 10-item Biblical Literalism Scale. There was a positive association between a preference for sensing and biblical literalism, after controlling for general biblical conservatism and church tradition. The implications for preachers are discussed. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.