Personality dimensions of religious orientation

The aim of this study was to extend previous research on religiosity and pe rsonality among U.S. adults (J. Maltby, M. Talley, C. Cooper, & J. C. Lesli e, 1995) by examining the relationship between several measures of those di mensions among non U.S. adults. Participants were 1,040 adults (436 men, 60 4 women) from the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Correlational techniques (Pearson product-moment correlations and principal components a nalysis with oblimin rotation) revealed that psychoticism shared a signific ant negative association with, and loaded on the same component as, measure s of personal orientation toward religion. Obsessional personality traits h ad significant, positive associations with measures of personal orientation toward religion. Obsessional symptoms shared a moderate, significant, posi tive correlation with an extrinsic orientation toward religion. However, ne ither of these obsessionality measures loaded on a component that contains measures of religiosity. It is argued that although psychoticism is negativ ely related to personal aspects of religion and has relevance to the psycho logy of religion, the relationship between obsessionality and religion is f ragmented, moderate, and limited.