Careers in the Clergy: the Myth of Femininity

Abstract

Forty-one undergraduate males were administered the standard Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and the Strong Vocational Interest Blank (SVIB) (Form T-399) just prior to entering a seminary sponsored by a major Protestant denomination. Earlier research had reported that the choice of a religious occupation was associated with feminine interest patterns and with personality characteristics as revealed by psychological measures. Results of the present study did not support previous findings. Although seminarians who scored high on the MF scale of the MMPI were similar to subjects in previous studies, those scoring low on the MF scale had measured interests different from those commonly attributed to this population. Implications for further research were made.