Abstract
The debate around the admission of women to the ministry of the Anglican churches has focused on a number of issues, not least, the extent to which women bring “balance” to ministry (see for example Furlong, 1991). Balance, when used in this context is usually seen as bringing different gifts to ministry. The assumption often made is that these “different gifts” will be those traditionally associated with women such as work with children. This argument has been employed by both those for and against the entry of women into holy orders (Harris & Shaw, 2004; Baker, 2004). Benjamin Schneider’s attraction-selection-attrition theory suggests that the group of people within an organisation move toward homogeneity. Schneider’s theory would suggest that the argument that women bring balance to ministry would not be supported. The current study employs psychological type theory to explore whether clergywomen in the Church in Wales do bring “balance” to ministry or “homogeneity”. The psychological type profile of a sample of 75 Church in Wales clergywomen measured by the Francis Psychological Type Scales (FPTS) is compared with a sample of 266 Church in Wales clergymen (Francis, Payne, & Robbins, 2013). The findings present no significant differences between the clergymen and clergywomen with regard to their judging function, perceiving function, orientation to the outer world or attitude toward the outer world. This finding lends support to Schneider’s theory. The implications of these findings for ministry in the Church in Wales are discussed.
Highlights
In 2013, the Church in Wales’ Governing Body voted in favour of women bishops
The path to ministry for clergywomen in the Church in Wales began in 1980 when the legislation in support of women deacons was passed by the Governing Body
It has taken a total of thirty-three years for the threefold ministry in the Church in Wales to be open to women
Summary
In 2013, the Church in Wales’ Governing Body voted in favour of women bishops. The vote represented a. Jones’ research was conducted on the ten year anniversary of women entering the priesthood in the Church of England and his case studies support Thorne’s argument ten years earlier that clergywomen bring balance to ministry. Attitude toward the outer world is defined as judging (J) and perceiving (P), and are concerned with how individuals approach day-to-day life; judgers preferring an organised and planned approach and perceivers preferring a flexible and spontaneous approach Taken together, these four dichotomous preferences generate 16 discrete psychological types (Myers & McCaulley, 1985). This research shows that across the samples cited judging and feeling types predominate This new study explores the psychological type profile of a sample of clergywomen from the Church in Wales alongside a sample of Church in Wales clergymen (Francis, Payne, & Robbins, 2013). Those who support the view of a complimentary ministry of clergywomen might expect that the psychological type profile of clergywomen will be significantly different to the psychological type profile of clergymen
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