Clergywomen in the Church of England and the Gender Inclusive Language Debate

Abstract

A total of 1, 139 clergywomen in the Church of England completed an Attitude Toward Gender Inclusive Language Scale together with the Revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ-R). They also responded to three further questions on their age, their educational level and the type of ministry in which they were currently engaged. The data demonstrate that attitude toward gender inclusive language is a function both of certain social-structural factors and of basic differences in personality. Younger clergywomen, engaged in stipendiary ministry who tend to score higher on the psychoticism scale and lower on the lie scale are likely to have a more positive attitude toward gender inclusive language.