Religion and the Development of Character: Personality Changes Before and After Religious Conversion and Deconversion

Abstract

Previous longitudinal research indicates that although religion may affect how personality traits are expressed, religion does not affect people's underlying personalities. However, such research has drawn from small North American samples and relatively short time intervals that do not include data from individuals prior to conversion. Here, we use a representative national sample of New Zealand adults over 9 years (2009–2017, N = 31,604) and piecewise latent growth models to assess longitudinal change in Big Five personality and Honesty-Humility before and after conversion to/deconversion from Christianity ( N = 540 converts, N = 886 deconverts). We observed no personality changes before conversion or after deconversion. However, we observed increases in Honesty-Humility, Conscientiousness, and Neuroticism following conversion. We also observed increases in Honesty-Humility and decreases in Agreeableness preceding deconversion. These findings indicate that religious conversion initiates specific changes in character, the most pronounced of which relate to increases in modesty and greed-avoidance.

Predicting Deconversion: Concurrent and Cross-time Correlations in Three Samples

“…Regarding openness to experience the Deconversion Study appears even more unique with its findings of strong correlations with deconversion, since not only this study, but also a series of other studies show no effect of openness to experience on deconversion (see Streib, 2021). This is different for agreeableness, however: Our finding that agreeableness at Wave 1 has strong (OR = 0.38) and powerful (e-value = 4.69) predicting effect on deconversion at Wave 3, clearly corresponds with Stronge et al's (2020) findings that lower scores for agreeableness were a significant predictor of deconversion in their longitudinal New Zealand sample.…”

“…but not confirmed by the study of Stronge et al (2020). The study reported in this chapter confirms Stronge et al's (2020) findings regarding the insignificance of emotional stabilitywhich was not significant, neither concurrently, nor cross-wave.…”

“…Their results indicate that low emotional stability (neuroticism, reversed) predicted deconversion, while the other five personality factors did not. Stronge et al (2020) have used a representative national sample of New Zealand adults (2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015)(2016)(2017) to analyze, using piecewise latent growth models, longitudinal change in the five personality traits and in honesty-humility before and after conversion or deconversion (N = 540 converts, N = 886 deconverts). The researchers observed no personality changes before conversion or after deconversion; but their result regarding deconverts demonstrate an increase in honesty-humility and a decrease in agreeableness preceding deconversion.…”

The new science of religious change.

“…Researchers can analyze these multipanel surveys using autoregressive cross-lagged (ARCL) models and latent growth curve models (LCMs), which can test whether multiple factors are changing together across several time-points (commonly between three and 15), and whether one factor may have a lagged effect on another. For example, Stronge and colleagues (2020) used LCM models to find that decreases to agreeableness typically preceded deconversion, and that deconversion typically preceded increases in conscientiousness. Researchers can also introduce exogeneous factors as control variables to make sure that change over time isn’t confounded with third variables.…”

Pedalling Out of Sociocultural Precariousness: Religious Conversions amongst the Hindu Dalits to Christianity in Nepal

“…Religious conversion is a process by which a person commits to the beliefs of a new religious tradition and shifts away from their previously held religious beliefs (Stark and Finke 2000). Whilst religious conversions take place mainly for spiritual reasons, a range of other personal and sociocultural factors also underpin such conversions (Parrucci 1968;Cartledge 2013;Doron and Broom 2013;Stronge et al 2021). Political changes in a country's history and religious freedom tend to play a role in accelerating modernisation and social changes such as religious conversion (Wankhede 2009;Falla 2001;Turner 2013;Fernandes 2011).…”