Impact of Humanistic, Liberal Christian, and Evangelical Christian Values on the Self-Reported Opinions of Radiologists and Psychiatrists

Abstract

Professional groups have generally endorsed “liberal” or nontheistic values or beliefs. However, some studies with academics suggest that professionals in physical science areas may be more “conservative” than those in social science disciplines. This project examined the relationship of values to nonclinical professional decisions of a nationwide sample of radiologists and psychiatrists. Respondents were sent a vignette which described a professional inservice summary and reflected either humanistic, liberal Christian or evangelical Christian values. Humanist vignettes were significantly and consistently rated as most approved on all three approval questions while Christian vignettes were rated as least approved. Professional group was not a significant factor, although psychiatrists tended to be more approving of all vignettes and expressed significantly more personal interest in the proposed inservice. Personal interest was significantly and positively correlated with approval ratings. Methodological issues, controversial topic effects on publication, government and Christian faith, pre-therapy value information, and other professional/health care issues were discussed.

Metaphysical Diversity in Mental Health Discourse: The Key to Scientific Progress in the Helping Professions

“…Applicants who mentioned they were evangelical Christians were less likely to be admitted than equally qualified secular applicants. Using a similar methodology, other researchers have essentially replicated these findings, documenting bias toward theists among psychologists (Neumann et al, 1991), and social workers (Neumann et al, 1992), as well as psychiatrists (Neumann et al, 1995), and physicians (Neumann & Leppien, 1997a;Neumann & Leppien, 1997b). For instance, social workers discriminated against evangelical Christians in the areas of in-service training, professional presentations, and publishing.…”

Religious Discrimination and Ethical Compliance

“…In keeping with the three theoretical frameworks discussed earlier, a number of content analyses have documented bias toward traditional Christians in some media forums (Kerr, 2003;Lindsey & Heeren, 1992;Skill & Robinson, 1994) and various educational and professional texts (Bellitto, 1996;Glenn, 1997;Hillocks, 1978;Sewall, 1995;Vitz, 1985), including the DSM III-R (Larson, Milano & Lu, 1998). Similarly, vignette studies using experimental manipulation have documented discrimination among various samples of helping professionals (Neumann, Thompson & Woolley, 1991;Neumann, Harvill & Callahan, 1995;Neumann & Leppien, 1997a,b). For example, one well-designed study of psychologists (N = 356) in charge of admissions at APA accredited graduate programs, found that respondents discriminated against evangelical Christians in their admission decisions (Gartner, 1986).…”

Equally Devout, but Do They Speak the Same Language? Comparing the Religious Beliefs and Practices of Social Workers and the General Public

“…This lens predisposes adherents toward selecting certain information while deemphasizing other data that falls outside the paradigm (Kuhn, 1970). Neumann and associates (Neumann et al, 1995;Neumann & Leppien, 1997;Neumann et al, 1992) have repeatedly demonstrated, using national samples, that religious preferences bias the decision-making process of professionals. Accordingly, the liberal religious orientation held by social workers may incline them to view conservative adherents less favorably.…”