Religious Exclusivity Scale

Abstract

The Religious Exclusivity Scale (RES) was developed by Robert A. Altemeyer and Bruce Hunsberger in 1992 as part of their extensive research on religious ideology and personality variables, specifically within the context of Religious Fundamentalism and Authoritarianism. The scale is an 18-item self-report measure designed to quantify the degree to which an individual holds the belief that their own religion is the sole provider of truth, moral authority, and salvation, thereby rejecting the spiritual validity of all other faiths. It serves as a crucial tool for differentiating between committed religious belief and rigid, dogmatic adherence that necessitates the exclusion of out-groups.

Keywords

Religious Exclusivity, Religious Fundamentalism, Authoritarianism, Religious Tolerance, Psychometrics, Belief Systems, Salvation, Altemeyer, Hunsberger, Religious Dogmatism.

Authors

Robert A. Altemeyer, Bruce Hunsberger

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Religious Exclusivity Scale (RES) is to quantitatively assess the ideological dimension of religious belief that focuses on absolute, unique truth claims. This measurement is vital for psychological research seeking to understand the cognitive roots of intergroup prejudice and religious intolerance. By isolating the concept of exclusivity, the RES allows researchers to determine if negative social attitudes are linked specifically to the belief that one’s faith is exclusively true, rather than merely linked to the strength of religious commitment overall.

The scale was developed to function alongside, yet distinct from, measures of general religiosity and Religious Fundamentalism (RF). It allows for detailed analysis of how the belief in a single true path influences attitudes toward diverse populations, making it a foundational instrument in the study of religion’s role in social conflict and tolerance.

Construct

The Religious Exclusivity Scale measures the construct of Religious Exclusivism. This construct is defined as an individual’s conviction that their particular religious tradition possesses the unique, absolute, and superior means to divine connection, moral goodness, and ultimate salvation. High scores on the RES reflect a worldview where other religions are deemed false, insufficient, or incapable of leading to true spiritual fulfillment.

Conversely, the scale’s reversed items measure aspects of Religious Pluralism or Inclusivism, reflecting beliefs that multiple spiritual paths hold valid truths, that the Divine is revealed through different traditions, or that moral behavior is independent of specific religious affiliation. The resulting score represents a continuous dimension ranging from high religious exclusivity to high religious pluralism.

Validity

The Religious Exclusivity Scale has demonstrated robust Construct Validity, particularly in its original validation studies, showing a strong, positive correlation with measures of Religious Fundamentalism (RF) and Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA), as expected based on theoretical links between rigid ideology and exclusivity. The scale successfully captures the dogmatic component of religious belief systems.

Furthermore, the RES exhibits strong Criterion Validity, consistently predicting outcomes related to social attitudes. Studies have shown that higher scores on the RES are significantly associated with increased levels of prejudice, hostility, and lower levels of tolerance toward religious and ethnic out-groups. Its ability to distinguish the exclusionary nature of belief from general devoutness also confirms solid Discriminant Validity against measures of intrinsic religiosity that do not contain ideological rigidity.

Reliability

The Religious Exclusivity Scale is generally regarded as a highly reliable psychological scale. Across numerous studies and diverse samples utilizing the 18-item format, the scale consistently yields high estimates of internal consistency. Typically, the Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient is reported in the range of 0.85 to 0.92, indicating that the items cohere strongly and reliably measure the unidimensional construct of religious exclusivity.

The inclusion of nine reversed items (items 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 18) helps to control for acquiescence bias, ensuring that the reliability estimates accurately reflect the underlying construct rather than methodological artifacts. Test-retest reliability, while less frequently reported than internal consistency, is typically stable over short periods, reflecting the enduring nature of fundamental religious beliefs.

Factor Analysis

Factor analysis of the Religious Exclusivity Scale has generally supported a unidimensional model. The primary factor extracted accounts for a significant portion of the variance, confirming that the 18 items measure a single, cohesive construct—the degree of belief in the exclusive truth claims of one’s religion. This finding solidifies the scale’s utility as a straightforward index of ideological rigidity.

Although the RES is empirically linked to measures of Authoritarianism and Religious Fundamentalism, factor analyses confirm that religious exclusivity is a distinct, measurable component of religious ideology, capable of independent assessment in research models.

Instrument

Test Type: Psychological scale; Self-report questionnaire

Format: 18 items, typically administered using a multi-point Likert-type scale (e.g., a 7-point scale ranging from “Strongly Disagree” to “Strongly Agree”).

Language Available: Primarily English (original development); variations and translations have been used in international research.

Population Group: General religious populations; utilized across various faith traditions (e.g., Christian, Buddhist, Muslim samples).

Age Group: Typically utilized with university students and general adult populations (ages 17+).

Population Details: Originally validated primarily on Christian university student samples in Canada and the United States, but widely used globally in social and personality psychology research.

Test Methodology: Responses are summed after reversing the scoring for the nine designated pluralistic/inclusive items (marked with *). Higher total scores indicate a stronger endorsement of religious exclusivity.

Keywords

Religious Intolerance, Likert Scale, Psychometrics, Religious Dogmatism, Attitude Measurement, Social Psychology, Internal Consistency.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A

Affiliation Email addresses: N/A

Correspondence Address: N/A

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Test Year: 1992 (Original Publication)

Permissions and Fee: Developed and published in an academic journal, the Religious Exclusivity Scale is widely considered to be in the public domain for non-commercial academic and research use, provided proper citation of the primary source (Altemeyer & Hunsberger, 1992) is given.

Reference’s

Altemeyer, R.A., & Hunsberger, B. (1992). Authoritarianism, religious fundamentalism, quest, and prejudice. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 2, 113-133.

Hansen, I. G., & Norenzayan, A. (n.d.). When How You Believe Matters More than What You Believe: Religiosity and Religious Intolerance among Christians and Buddhists. University of British Columbia. The scale items were published on page 54 of this document, available online. The original PDF can be downloaded here: http://www2.psych.ubc.ca/ha‎vinganlab/pdf/HansenNorenzayanReligiousTolerance.pdf

Items of the Religious Exclusivity Scale

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

1. Only one religion is true; the other religions are false.
2. All religions teach essentially the same Divine values.*
3. ha‎ving faith is very important‚ but what particular faith you have is less important.*
4. Some religions are closer to the truth than others.
5. The Divine is revealed to us through different religions.*
6. Prayer can only be effective if you are praying to the right Divine Name.
7. The Divine answers prayers regardless of the Name by which the prayer calls on theDivine.*
8. Most religions have some truth to them‚ but there isn’t any one religion that can claimit is the only true faith.*
9. Many of the major religions have similar moral teachings; you can be a good person nomatter what religion you profess.*
10. A deeply-felt religious belief can have a very positive impact on your life‚ but there isno one religion that is the best of all.*
11. Only one religious faith leads to salvation; all the others fall short.
12. It is not enough to believe in a religion that is partly true‚ because there is one religionthat is absolutely true.
13. Although there is prayer and meditation in all religions‚ only if you pray according tothe one true religion will your prayer do good.
14. If you pray sincerely‚ your prayer can do good‚ no matter what religion you believein.*
15. Only one religion can lead your soul to final safety and peace.
16. There is only one religion that understands the source of all goodness and evil in thisworld; without believing in that religion‚ you cannot truly do good or escape evil.
17. If you say that all spiritual paths are equally true‚ you have said something false‚because there is only one true path.
18. If you are kind and loving‚ you will be close to salvation no matter what religion youbelieve or practice.*

* Reversed items