Date of Award
1989
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Psychology
Department
Psychology
First Advisor
Albert J. Lott
Abstract
The conceptual model of Transformational/Transactional leadership has been drawn primarily from case studies of business leaders and political figures. No empirical studies of these concepts appear to exist. There are no studies that operationalize these concepts in a religious setting. This research, therefore, operationalizes and extends these leadership perspectives into a religious setting.
A review of the social science literature as well as the Biblical literature suggested the particular importance of the Transformational leader providing a Model, being involved in a wide Breadth of interests, and Persevering. The Trans actional leader, on the other hand, is less concerned about providing an example, is interested only in a few specific areas, and is likely to conform. The question is raised whether pas tor s and parishioners have diverging views regarding these leadership concepts. If so, a second question is raised as to whether this difference has an impact on pastoral tenure. Three basic assumptions of this research are that there is a difference between pastors and parishioners along Transformational/Transactional lines, that this difference leads to friction between congregants and pastors, and that this friction causes pastors to have brief tenures. It is assumed that tenures of more than six years would be healthier than the brief tenures that are the norm. My hypothesis was that pastor s would list proportionately more Transformational statements than parishioners on the questionnaire. This hypothesis was tested through an open-ended questionnaire developed by the author and administered to pastors and parishioners; subjects were drawn from Conservative Baptist churches in New England. As hypothesized, pastors are more Transformational than parishioners; responses to the questionnaire demonstrate a significant difference between these pastors and parishioners on the major Transformational/Transactional distinction, as well as, on the subconcepts of Persevering and of Breadth of Involvement. Directions for future research are outlined.
Recommended Citation
Bray, James L., "Transformational and Transactional Church Leadership Perspectives of Pastors and Parishioners" (1989). Open Access Master's Theses. Paper 1632.
https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/theses/1632
Terms of Use
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