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All papers in this special edition ofMental Health, Religion & Cultureutilise data sets from the 2011 round of the Australian National Church Life Survey (NCLS). This paper presents a methodological overview of the NCLS, including data collection methods, survey instruments and demographic descriptions of church attender and leader data sets. The data sets have good national coverage and denominational diversity, although Pentecostals are under-represented. The data sets may be further affected by self-selection by participating churches; however, the content of the surveys is unlikely to have triggered self-selection biases at the level of individuals. The paper also provides details concerning the measurement of quality of life in the present collection, concentrating on the Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI) which is featured in four of the five empirical papers. Mean PWI scores for churchgoers and leaders were similar to the Australian populace at large, although there was greater variability among churchgoers. The domain of spirituality/religion makes a significant contribution to well-being in these Australian Christian sub-populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing research has mostly found positive, but sometimes inconclusive and contradictory, results about the relationships between volunteering and well-being, as well as between church attendance and volunteering. This paper aims to clarify how volunteering and religious beliefs and practices are related to well-being among Christian churchgoers. Utilising data from the 2011 Australian National Church Life Survey, volunteering was found to partially mediate the positive relationship between religiosity and well-being (life satisfaction), but only for some denominational groupings. Part of the reason why church attenders with high religiosity have higher well-being is because they are more likely to volunteer. The implications of these findings are discussed within the context of economic, managerial, public health and religious parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the relationship between religious orientation and personal well-being (PWB) among 1289 Australian church leaders. The study is of interest because although religion and religiousness in general have been found to be positive contributors to important variables (such as well-being and satisfaction with life), particular orientations towards religion, and their interaction, may moderate the positive effects of religion on these variables. In light of this observation, the paper examined the Quest and Intrinsic religious orientations in relation to PWB, with the aim of clarifying the interactive effect of these two orientations. Specifically, the study hypothesised that there would be a negative relationship between questing and satisfaction with life, but that this negative relationship would be moderated by Intrinsic religious orientation. Using Structural Equation Modelling to test this hypothesis with a large data set and robust measures, results of the study indicated that intrinsic orientation did indeed moderate a negative relationship between questing and satisfaction with life (from –.44 to –.34). However, the negative relationship between questing and PWB remained statistically significant suggesting that Intrinsic Orientation may not be a strong moderator of the negative effects of questing. The study makes a substantial empirical, and nuanced theoretical, contribution to the literature concerning the effects of religious orientations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Australian National Church Life Survey draws on psychological type theory to facilitate insights into the connection between individual psychological profiles and preferences for different religious expressions. Drawing on data provided by 2355 participants in the 2006 congregation survey, this analysis profiles those members of church congregations who are drawn to participation in small prayer, discussion or Bible study groups, or to participation in fellowship and social groups. The key findings are that extraverts and feeling types are over-represented in the fellowship and social groups and that intuitive types are over-represented in small prayer, discussion or Bible study groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Personality and religiosity have consistently been found to be related to subjective well-being. However, the relative impact of these factors has not been clear. This quantitative study of 1855 church attenders from 20 denominations in the 2011 Australian National Church Life Survey found that their psychological type profile confirmed patterns found in other church-going populations, with high proportions of introverts, sensing types, feeling types, and judging types. Results also showed that positive relationships were found between extraversion and well-being, but not for the predominant psychological types (sensing and judging). Religiousness and well-being were also positively related; however, denominational affiliation made no difference. In terms of the relative contribution of psychological type and religiosity to well-being, the results confirmed that both made a similar unique and significant contribution. It was concluded that both factors should be taken into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sample of 677 ordained clergy in Australia participated in the 2011 National Church Life Survey completing the Leaders Survey 2 questionnaire that included the Francis Psychological Type Scales (FPTS), an operationalisation of psychological type theory and the Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI), an operationalisation of subjective well-being. The data demonstrate good reliability for the FPTS and the PWI among this sample. The ordained clergy in Australia report a preference for introversion (56%), sensing (59%), feeling (54%), and judging (81%). Exploration of the relationship between psychological type and well-being demonstrates that extraverts and judging types are significantly more likely to record higher levels of well-being. The implications of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]