Preferences of Christians and Non-Christians for Five Christian Counselors’ Treatment Plans: A Partial Replication and Extension

Abstract

This study replicated and extended a previous study that compared conservative and moderate Christians on preferences for Christian counselors’ treatment plans. Preferences of self-labeled non-Christians (n = 55) and Christians (n = 197) were compared. In a second analysis, Christians who described their Christianity as due to their personal relationship with Jesus were compared with Christians who described their Christianity as due to their love of fellow humans. Generally, participants preferred counselors who had beliefs similar to themselves. Views concerning Christianity generally did not affect ratings of expected counselor style and performance. Results were discussed in light of recent research on value similarity.