Personality Correlates Between Fundamentalist and Non-Fundamentalist Individuals as Measured by the NEO PI-R and the Religious Fundamentalism Scale

The relationship between religious fundamentalism and personality was examined. Over 150 students total, from two Midwestern universities were administered the NEO PI-R and the Religious Fundamentalism Scale. It was predicted that the individuals who scored highly on the RF Scale would score significantly higher on the Neuroticism scale and significantly lower on the Openness scale of the NEO PI-R than the non-fundamentalists. Results of the study confirmed the prediction that Openness would be significantly lower for fundamentalists, F (1, 103) = 11.093, p \u3c 0.001. Results did not confirm the prediction that Neuroticism would be significantly higher for fundamentalists, but showed that Agreeableness was significantly higher for fundamentalists, F (1,103) = 11.127, p \u3c 0.001. Possible reasons for the differences in personality scores between fundamentalists and non-fundamentalists were discussed, as well as suggestions for future research in this area