Although seemingly fragmented, the Republican Party has the potential to create new pathways of leadership. The fusion of leadership theories and personality theories offer an initial framework for postulating the future of Republican Party efficacy. However, leadership and personality theories need to be combined with sociological and theological empiricism in order to provide a pragmatic and moral framework for the future. This research seeks to advance the theoretical treatment of personality as a sociological factor in leadership, specifically by focusing on the follower-leader dyad to demonstrate normative patterns of trust, support, and motivation. Additionally, this research frames political leadership in theological terms.. By presenting a dynamic analysis of leadership within the Republican Party, this research will also illustrate the sociological distinction between the secular/profane and the sacred and that that distinction means for the future of the party.

Research has shown that “personality theory is not only a legitimate, but also an essential component of empirical theology,” (Francis, 2002, p. 37). Therefore, this dissertation will begin with an overview of personality theories like Big Five and personality assessments like the Myers-Briggs, which illuminate core interactive patterns between religious and political leaders and their followers or voters (Oswald & Kroeger,...

Prior research shows how voters perceive the leadership styles, traits and capacities differently depending not only on their biases and assumptions but also on their own personality traits (Salter, Green, Ree, et al., 2009). The work of Humphreys & Einstein (2004) likewise elucidates the motivation of followers, and how leaders in political parties can work to appeal to different personality types by marketing themselves in different ways. At the organizational level, leadership styles and traits impact employee well-being; the same principle can be applied to public service leadership, whereby leaders of a political party can cultivate specific traits and develop leadership styles that imparts community cohesion and promotes positive values (Robertson & Flint-Taylor, 2008). Thus, personality and leadership have both psychological and sociological implications.
The research will also address the underlying moral framework for a theological of leadership. Lorentzen (1980) postulates on the fusion of spirituality and politics within the Republican Party, claiming, for example, “a perceived decline in morals and a perception of legislative issues that symbolically support a more liberal element of American society motivated these evangelicals to political action,” (p. 144). Likewise, Gordon (2016) states, “the ideal of a wholly secularized society had lost much of its…