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How does religion affect the development of a personality type?

stephsharik

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No religion in particular, and no type in particular.

I will use Christianity (in general) as an example. Gimmicks like "What Would Jesus Do?" and general encouragement to reflect the "nature of Jesus".

Is it possible that some religions command a person to emulate a certain personality that can be classified with typology?

And how would such religions affect an individual of different types?
 

Coriolis

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I wonder more about the reverse: how personality type influences one's religious development. There have already been several threads touching on that, though.
 

stephsharik

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I wonder more about the reverse: how personality type influences one's religious development. There have already been several threads touching on that, though.

I'm sure certain types are more prone to be areligious, but I'm thinking more in terms of a type that was brought up in a highly religious environment. From their very childhood their epistemological foundation would be the religion they inherit from their caretakers. I am guessing that certain types are also more prone to deconvert as they grow older.

The main question I have is: is it possible that one's religious upbringing could skew an individual's personality type in a significant way? And if yes, how to tell the difference between their preference and what they think they should prefer (in terms of cognitive functions)?
 

Totenkindly

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I'm sure certain types are more prone to be areligious, but I'm thinking more in terms of a type that was brought up in a highly religious environment. From their very childhood their epistemological foundation would be the religion they inherit from their caretakers. I am guessing that certain types are also more prone to deconvert as they grow older.

The main question I have is: is it possible that one's religious upbringing could skew an individual's personality type in a significant way? And if yes, how to tell the difference between their preference and what they think they should prefer (in terms of cognitive functions)?

Dunno if you ever saw this, but it's Yeardley's study in 1985 on the ICC religious group (which some have labeled as a cult). He tracked personality changes in some of the mainline denominations as well as six orgs that were seen as cultish. For the ICC, it looks like there was a clear shift towards the ESFJ personality type from whatever original types existed, and the head of the cult claimed when hearing about the results that this just showed that Jesus was an ESFJ.

The Discipling Dilemma, Chapter 2

In contrast to the mainlines:
...The first result of this study to be discussed is the observation that a great majority of the members of the Boston Church of Christ changed psychological type scores in the past, present, and future versions of the MBTI. Among the 835 individuals who took all three forms of the MBTI, less than five percent showed no change at all and less than seven percent had the same past and future type. Among the rest, a comparison of past and future types showed that almost 20 percent changed on one MBTI scale, 35 percent changed on two, over 26 percent changed on three, and over 12 percent changed on all four scales, thus experiencing a total reversal of type. The mean number of scale changes was 2.18 among the 835 members of the Boston Church of Christ who took all three forms of the MBTI. The present distribution was significantly different from the past distribution. The difference between past and future type distributions was highly significant.

A second result of this study that must be noticed is that the observed changes in psychological type scores were not random since there was a clear convergence in a single type. Ten of the 16 types show a steady decline in the percentage who came out as that type in the past, present, and future versions of the MBTI. Three transitional types show an increase from past to present and then a sharp decline in the future outcomes. There were three popular types in this study: ESFJ, ESTJ, and ENFJ.

There was a steady increase in the percentage who came out with these three type indications in the past, present, and future results Percentages are figured separately for males and females since male and female distributions differ on the thinking-feeling scale. In the past, present, and future results, the percentage of males who came out ESFJ went from 2.58 to 26.37 to to 54.23 while the percentages for females went from 5.10 to 34.31 to 53.48. ESTJs differ from ESFJs only on the thinking-feeling scale. The percentage of males who scored as ESTJ went from 7.73 to 15.92 to 20.37 while the percentages for females went from 4.67 to 13.81 to 23.04. ENFJs differ from ESFJs only on the sensing-intuition scale. The percentages of males who came out ENFJ went from 1.29 to 4.73 to 14.81, while the percentages for females went from 0.64 to 3.97 to 12 17....

Yes, this study is mostly looking at sects already seen as cult-like, but basically in a religious organization (which typically presents certain behaviors as preferred and others as needing to be shunned/abandoned) you're going to see some degree of personality shaping, just like you'll see it in a family context as well where parents in authority are raising their children to behave in a certain way.

I think it's a known difficulty for people who came from controlling families and/or organizations (e.g., religious) to determine which things are "them" naturally and which things they were shaped into.

Of course, personality type also impacts religious perception and values.
 

Doctor Cringelord

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So how might one's type influence their interest in different religious schools of thought as they come of age?

For me, taoism and zen were always the most appealing.
 

Bush

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For the ICC, it looks like there was a clear shift towards the ESFJ personality type from whatever original types existed, and the head of the cult claimed when hearing about the results that this just showed that Jesus was an ESFJ.
Oh, shit. More forum fodder.
 

Coriolis

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Yes, this study is mostly looking at sects already seen as cult-like, but basically in a religious organization (which typically presents certain behaviors as preferred and others as needing to be shunned/abandoned) you're going to see some degree of personality shaping, just like you'll see it in a family context as well where parents in authority are raising their children to behave in a certain way.

I think it's a known difficulty for people who came from controlling families and/or organizations (e.g., religious) to determine which things are "them" naturally and which things they were shaped into.
This will happen in any situation where a person must function for a long time under strict external constraints. It can be hard to remember or discover who the "real you" is. Seems this would be a key component of brainwashing.
 

Totenkindly

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This will happen in any situation where a person must function for a long time under strict external constraints. It can be hard to remember or discover who the "real you" is. Seems this would be a key component of brainwashing.

Yup, and it is something that can happen in any institution depending on how it's run and it also can happen without the people in charge even meaning to (or perhaps even thinking it's a positive rather than a detriment).
 

Mole

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Personality type is largely, but not exclusively, determined by genetics and child rearing practices.

We can't change our genetics except through Eugenics, but we can change our child rearing practices.

And indeed over history our child rearing practices have improved, particularly recently in prosperous countries.

But we still see a whole spread of child rearing practices in the 21st century, from child sacrifice we see in the Islamic State, to child abuse we see in Roman Catholic Church and other institutions, to authoritarian control of children, to the helping mode of child rearing.

And each form of child rearing is an improvement on the previous form of child rearing.

And interestingly, the various forms of chlld rearing lead to various psycho-classes, from the paranoid, to the abusing, to the controlling, to the empathic and creative.
 

LonestarCowgirl

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When I was baptized with the Holy Spirit at church, I physically felt an impartation of power that the Bible talks about. I would describe it as a supernatural high that goes on and on and leads.

I'm not a perfect person. My head isn't perfect. However, my heart feels strongly led to do right by people; including people that hurt me. I feel with all of my heart, God loves everyone, unconditionally.

Jesus truly was an amazing man.
Greater love has no one than this: to lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13)

Before I received the Holy Spirit, I wasn't that way. I'm not who I was.
 

Mole

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When I was baptized with the Holy Spirit at church, I physically felt an impartation of power that the Bible talks about. I would describe it as a supernatural high that goes on and on and leads.

I'm not a perfect person. My head isn't perfect. However, my heart feels strongly led to do right by people; including people that hurt me. I feel with all of my heart, God loves everyone, unconditionally.

Jesus truly was an amazing man.
Greater love has no one than this: to lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13)

Before I received the Holy Spirit, I wasn't that way. I'm not who I was.

It is amazing isn't it the deep effect religion has on our psyche. Psyche is Ancient Greek for soul. So it amazing the deep effect religion has on our soul.
 

Amalie Muller

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I feel this thread is ignoring the more important questions, like "What effect does cheese have on the development of roses?"
 

LonestarCowgirl

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[MENTION=22521]Bullet[/MENTION]: Pentecostal is not my cup of tea. I'm nondenominational charismatic. My pastor is Joel Osteen. :spindance:
 
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Hitoshi-San

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Not sure, I would like to know. I didn't grow up in a religious family but did go to a Catholic school from kindergarten to eighth grade and we can say it wasn't a good fit for me. Too much guilt, too many rules and they weren't open enough to the fact that not all people are the same but they should still be respected.

I don't think I'm entirely closed off to the idea of religion, it just needs to be fair and accepting of the people who practice it and those who don't. To me, religion should be something to make you feel good and guide you through life. I do NOT believe atheists have no morals and are all going to hell.
 

stephsharik

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Not sure, I would like to know. I didn't grow up in a religious family but did go to a Catholic school from kindergarten to eighth grade and we can say it wasn't a good fit for me. Too much guilt, too many rules and they weren't open enough to the fact that not all people are the same but they should still be respected.

I don't think I'm entirely closed off to the idea of religion, it just needs to be fair and accepting of the people who practice it and those who don't. To me, religion should be something to make you feel good and guide you through life. I do NOT believe atheists have no morals and are all going to hell.

Thank you. I don't think I'm going to hell either.
Not sure if I have morals though.
 

Mole

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I'm nondenominational charismatic.

It is wonderful you are non-denominational, but I wonder if it is true. If you are non-denominational charismatic, you will attend charismatic services in various nominational churches. So, for instance, do you attend catholic charismatic services?
[MENTION=20075]Skinny-Love[/MENTION]
 

Mole

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To me, religion should be something to make you feel good and guide you through life.

How does worshipping a God with the head of an elephant, called Ganesh, in Hinduism, make you feel good and guide you through life?

And how does worshipping a God with three heads, called the Trinity, in Christianity, make you feel good and guide you through life?
 

LonestarCowgirl

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It is wonderful you are non-denominational, but I wonder if it is true. If you are non-denominational charismatic, you will attend charismatic services in various nominational churches. So, for instance, do you attend catholic charismatic services?
No, my fair-skinned brother.

Joel Osteen is more Ayn Rand then Jesus Christ
Yes, I take supplements to remedy that. Have you heard of Joseph Prince? He's right on and probably ENTP. If I lived in Singapore, my pastor would be Joseph Prince. :heart:
 
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