Date of Award

Fall 2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Organizational Leadership

First Advisor

Dr. Joshua D. Henson

Second Advisor

Dr. Debra J. Dean

Third Advisor

Dr. Joseph Pastori

Abstract

Control is a key factor for understanding behavior, decision-making, and leadership. Whereas locus of control (LOC) explores a person’s belief about how much influence they have over their life (Rotter, 1966), God control explores how much influence a person believes God has over their life (Welton et al., 1996). In the context of faith leaders, the topic of control is nuanced, as two entities cannot be in control simultaneously (Slatinsky et al., 2022). There is ample research on LOC, sense of control, and leadership. There is also extensive research on faith leaders. However, research exploring internally driven individuals and faith is limited and presents contrasting views. Slatinsky et al. (2022) stated that an understanding of LOC suggests a religious person would be more externally controlled, although Coursey et al. (2013) emphasized that the situation is more complex and the research inconsistent, and Zarzycka et al. (2021) underscored the multifaceted nature of religion. The purpose of this study was to understand how internal LOC leaders with high God control attribute responsibility for positive and negative outcomes. These findings do not support the view that people of faith are more likely to be externally controlled (Slatinsky et al., 2022); rather, they confirm the viewpoint that people of faith share responsibility with God (Coursey et al., 2013; Iles-Caven et al., 2020; Liu & Froese, 2020; Pargament et al., 1988) and support the general understanding that God control is not synonymous with external control (Welton et al., 1996).

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