3 6 S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 2 - 2 Fa l l 2 0 1 6 I conclude this section by calling to attention two caveats that the reader ought to bear in mind before drawing conclusions from my findings. First, there can be no guarantee that one’s sample includes those who have successfully traversed the Threefold Way. Second, people do not necessarily possess greater objective knowledge on political matters due to their higher self-reported spiritual involvement. 3 Methods 3.1 Samples A directory of Orthodox Christian parishes was used to compile a listing of virtually every Orthodox church in the U.S. for which there was a website [3]. On two separate occasions, I randomly selected 20% of these churches, and instructed research assistants to send a standard message to the rectors of each, asking them to invite their parishioners to complete a survey for a chance to win a $100 Amazon gift card. Thus, two rounds of this survey were conducted; the first round (i.e., Round 1) in the summer of 2014, and the second (i.e., Round 2) in the fall of 2015. Respectively, there were 102 and 76 respondents in total, drawn from all regions of the country. Where there are no significant differences between the rounds with respect to methods and findings, I limit my discussion and presentation of findings to Round 2. 3.2 Political Ideology Ideology was measured in two ways. First, respondents were asked to place themselves on a 10-point ideological scale ranging from far left- to far right-wing. I adopted the exact wording used in the World Values Survey [4]. Second, they were asked to indicate how strongly they agree with each of 7 statements that form my Obnoxiously Short Political Ideology Test (OSPIT), which I designed for use in my American Government class (see Table 1). The test classifies one as a communitarian, conservative, liberal, libertarian, or a com- bination of two or more of these ideological types. The advantage of this measure is that it provides a broader range of possible results than those that compartmentalize people into either the liberal or conservative camp [5]. Table 1. The Obnoxiously Short Political Ideology Test (OSPIT) [1] To what extent do you agree with each of the following statements? Options: Strongly agree, Agree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree 1.) There need to be stricter laws and regulations to protect the environment. 2.) The government should spend more on reducing poverty. 3.) Same-sex couples should be allowed to marry legally. 4.) Government regulation of business usually does more harm than good. 5.) Abortion should be illegal in all or most cases. 6.) Generally speaking, the best way to ensure peace is through military strength, not diplomacy. Note [1] The exact wording in statements 1, 4, and 5 is borrowed from the Pew Research Center, accessed August 1, 2014, http://www.pewresearch.org.
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