Associations of personality traits and degree of religiosity in Judaism

Abstract

Most research in the field of personality and religion has either focused on common North American religions (e.g., Christianity) or compared personality traits across religions. Although Judaism has been included in these comparisons, our study is the first to investigate personality differences across sects of Judaism with increasing degrees of religiosity (ranging from Non-Practicing, Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, to Lubavitch) using the HEXACO Personality Inventory. Considering the prevalence of Judaism, it is important to acknowledge differences among individuals who practice it, as has been done with other major religions. In this study, we asked the following two research questions; (1) Do individuals who self-identify with certain sects of Judaism differ in personality? (2) Is the size of the city of residence associated with the degree of religiosity in Judaism? We used various social media outlets to administer the HEXACO Personality Inventory, the Religious Orientation Scale, and the Katz-Francis Scale of Attitude toward Judaism to 186 self-identified Jewish individuals. Participantsranged in age from 18 to 74 and lived in different cities across North America. There were no significant differences in any of the personality scores across sects of Judaism, a result that is not consistent with previous research. We found no significant correlation between city size and degree of religiosity in Judaism. Future research could include a greater selection of sects within Judaism for participants to identify with, as well as the creation of a more accurate measurement of religiosity in relation to Judaism.

* Indicates faculty mentor.