The current study reviews existing research concerned with psychological type theory and aspects of the Christian faith, and then proceeds to identify a series of key research questions in order to build on and develop this existing literature. These research questions are addressed by means of a questionnaire survey which explores the psychological type preferences of people attending 95 church congregations within the UK. Having profiled the psychological type preferences of churchgoers in the UK, the type preferences of this sample are then compared and contrasted with other groups such as the UK population norms, non-churchgoers, and clergy. The current study then goes on to assess the relationship between psychological type and demographic characteristics, aspects of Christian practice, congregational dynamics, church satisfaction, denominational affiliation, church orientation, faith origins, and faith styles.
The data reveal a clear tendency for churchgoers to prefer introversion over extraversion, sensing over intuition, feeling over thinking, and judging over perceiving, which reflects the findings of most previous studies among both lay people and clergy. This profile is significantly different both from the general UK population and from non-churchgoers. People who prefer intuition, thinking, and perceiving are underrepresented among churchgoers and also report less satisfaction with the church. The implications of the psychological type preferences of the current sample are discussed and conclusions concerning the psychological type preferences of churchgoers in the UK are drawn.