Christopher C. H. Cook

Drawing on data provided by 1476 newly ordained Anglican clergy from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales who completed the Keirsey Temperament Sorter and an 80-item battery of type-related prayer preference items, this study tested the thesis advanced by Michael and Norrisey that the Apollonian (NF) temperament is associated with a distinctive emphasis in prayer and spirituality. The analysis identified seventeen prayer preference items that were rated significantly more highly by NF participants. These items produced a revised Scale of Apollonian Prayer Preferences with an alpha of .79 (offering internal consistency reliability), recorded significantly higher scores among NF participants (offering construct validity), and resonated with characteristics of Augustinian prayer and spirituality (offering content validity). These data replicate previously reported findings in support of a link between the NF temperament and Augustinian prayer preferences. Our findings have implications for NF clergy both in their own prayers and in their ministry with others.

Drawing on data provided by 207 Anglican and Methodist ministry training candidates, who completed the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and an 80-item battery of type-related prayer preference items, this study tested the thesis advanced by Michael and Norrisey that the Apollonian (NF) Temperament is associated with Augustinian prayer and spirituality. From the battery of eighty items, the analysis identified eleven items rated more highly by NF participants. These items produced a scale with a satisfactory alpha of .81 (offering internal consistency reliability). Consideration of these items alongside the secondary literature on Augustinian spirituality, and Augustine’s own account in his Confessions , showed that they mapped broadly onto the characteristics of Augustinian prayer and spirituality (offering content validity). These data support the hypothesized link between the Apollonian (NF) Temperament and Augustinian prayer and spirituality.

This study explores the psychological type and temperament profile of 117 male and 80 female ordinands training at Cranmer Hall, Durham, over a nine-year period alongside earlier studies of Church of England stipendiary clergy. The data confirm the prominence of the Apollonian (NF) Temperament accounting for 41% of male and 54% of female ordinands. Among male ordinands there were preferences for extraversion (58%), intuition (70%), feeling (61%), and judging (60%). Among female ordinands there were preferences for extraversion (56%), intuition (64%), feeling (74%), and judging (74%). The implications of these finding are discussed for the future shape of ministry.

Acute Religious Experiences: Madness, Psychosis and Religious Studies. By Richard Saville-Smith. Bloomsbury Academic. 2023. £76.50 (hb). 254 pp. ISBN 978-1350272910 - Volume 225 Issue 2

SUMMARY: Essays on Partial Derangement of the Mind in Supposed Connection with Religion, written amidst the illness of its author almost two centuries ago, was the little-known work of a distinguished physician. Seeking to rebut the argument that religion is causative of ‘derangement of the mind’ it takes a surprisingly biological view of such conditions while, at the same time, affirming the importance of faith, hope and love in human well-being. Despite its limitations, it makes observations that remain relevant to debates about religion and psychiatry today.

Aims and method: Calls for the integration of spirituality into psychiatric practice have raised concerns about boundary violations. We sought to develop a method to capture psychiatrists’ attitudes to professional boundaries and spirituality, explore consensus and understand what factors are considered. Case vignettes were developed, tested and refined. Three vignettes were presented to 80 mental health professionals (53% said they were psychiatrists; 39% did not identify their professional status). Participants recorded their reactions to the vignettes. Four researchers categorised these as identifying boundary violations or not and analysed the factors considered.Results: In 90% of cases, at least three of the four researchers agreed on classification (boundary violation; possible boundary violation; no boundary violation). Participants’ opinion about boundary violations was heterogeneous. There was consensus that psychiatrists should not proselytise in clinical settings. Reasoning emphasised pragmatic concerns. Few participants mentioned their religious beliefs. Equivocation was common.Clinical implications: Mental health professionals seem unsure about professional boundaries concerning religion and spirituality in psychiatric practice.