Political Liberalism-Conservatism among Clergy: The Question of Dimensionality

In: Human relations: towards the integration of the social sciences, Band 37, Heft 10, S. 853-861

Abstract

The conclusion by Mann (1970) that unidimensionality of political liberalism exists among groups who are very interested and/or active in the sociopolitical processes was investigated. Two national samples of clergy for the years 1972 and 1978 from six Protestant denominations revealed a high degree of interrelationship among items pertaining to topical issues. In factor analysis, only one significant factor emerged. Unidimensionality of political liberalism-conservatism appears as a reasonable assessment of the positions of these clergy concerning sociopolitical issues.