pREVIOUS RESEARCH conducted on Lutheran clergymen (Bohr, 1967) indicated that those affiliated with a conservative church body were both more dogmatic and younger at age of occupational choice than were those affiliated with a more liberal church body. The present study was designed to ascertain the generalizability of this relationship between individual and organizational characteristics by investigating religious functionaries belonging to contrasting organizations in another major tradition. Form E of the Rokeach Dogmatism Scale (Rokeach, 1960) and a brief biographical questionnaire were administered to all 30 postulant nuns taking course work at a small Roman Catholic college for women. Of this number, 17 belonged to a conservative order and 13 belonged to a considerably more liberal order. In general, the two orders differed markedly on a number of salient characteristics (i.e., organizational history, type of habit worn, use made of liturgical innovations, stringency of regulations on behavior). However, the two groups of postulants did not differ on age, education, or social class background. As predicted, marked differences were obtained between postulants of the two orders on both dogmatism and reported age of vocational decision. Whereas the mean Dogmatism Scale score for sisters of the conservative order was 168.4, it was 121.0 for the members of the liberal order (t = 4.90, p < .001). The mean reported age of vocational choice was 14.9 for conservatives and 18.8 for liberals (t = 4.53, p < .001). Although the overall correlation between Dogmatism Scale score and reported age of vocational choice was significant (r = -.42, p < .02), this relationship disappears when religious order is held constant. (The correlations are -.01 for the conservative group and .09 for the liberal group.) Thus, the overall negative relationship resulted from the inclusion of two extremely homogeneous but highly dissimilar groups in the analysis (i.e., a dogmatic group reporting an early vocational decision and a non-dogmatic group reporting a later vocational decision). The present results lend support to the view that, even within a given denomination, marked differences exist among the types of individuals attracted to careers in contrasting formal organizations. Further research on intra-denominational differences in the recruitment of religious leaders is indicated. It is suggested that self-selection of formal organizations by prospective religious functionaries serves the function of reducing the of social control experienced by these divergent bodies. Indeed, as Gamson has stated, Many voluntary organizations reduce their control inadvertently by attracting as members those who will 'fit well' and will offer few control problems (1968, p. 118).