Religious Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SRQ-R)

Abstract

The Religious Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SRQ-R) is a concise, 12-item psychometric instrument designed to assess the reasons underlying an individual’s engagement in religious behaviors. Developed within the framework of Self-Determination Theory (SDT), the SRQ-R focuses specifically on measuring the degree of internalization of religious motivation. While a longer, 48-item version exists, the 12-item form was found to be equally psychometrically sound and significantly more economical for research use. The scale yields scores on two principal dimensions of autonomous motivation: Introjected Regulation and Identified Regulation.

Keywords

Religious motivation, Self-Determination Theory, religiosity, self-regulation, Introjected Regulation, Identified Regulation, psychological scale, Ryan, intrinsic motivation.

Authors

Richard M. Ryan, Scott Rigby, and Kenneth King.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the SRQ-R is to determine the motivational source driving an individual’s participation in religious activities, such as praying, attending church, or sharing faith. The questionnaire moves beyond simple measures of frequency of religious practice by exploring the quality of motivation, addressing the “why” rather than just the “what.”

This focus allows researchers to differentiate between religious behaviors that are performed due to internal pressure or external demands (controlled motivation) and those performed because the individual personally values the activity (autonomous motivation). The scale was initially developed for research with a Christian population but is easily adaptable for use across various religious contexts.

Construct

The SRQ-R measures the internalization of religious motivation, specifically focusing on two subscales derived from the continuum of motivation proposed by Self-Determination Theory (SDT). These two forms of regulation were found to be the most dynamically meaningful in the context of religious behaviors.

• Introjected Regulation: This subscale captures motivation that is partially internalized but still originates from external pressures, often involving feelings of guilt, shame, or the need to maintain self-esteem or avoid disapproval. For example, attending church because one “would feel guilty if they didn’t.”

• Identified Regulation: This subscale reflects autonomous motivation where the individual consciously values the religious behavior and identifies with its importance. The behavior is performed because it aligns with personal goals and values, even if it is not intrinsically enjoyable in the moment. For example, attending church to “learn new things.”

Notably, analyses conducted during the scale development determined that the constructs of External Regulation (purely controlled, e.g., doing something only for reward) and Intrinsic Motivation (doing something purely for enjoyment) did not significantly contribute to the validity or predictive power of the scale in the religious domain, leading to their exclusion from the final 12-item SRQ-R.

Validity

The validation of the SRQ-R was established through the foundational study by Ryan, Rigby, and King (1993). This research confirmed that the 12-item short form maintained the critical psychometric properties of the original 48-item version, demonstrating strong convergent and discriminant validity with other measures of religious orientation and mental health.

Reliability

The short-form SRQ-R (12 items) was determined to be highly reliable, possessing sufficient internal consistency across its two subscales. The authors concluded that the scale is reliable enough to measure the two forms of internalized religious motivation effectively and economically.

Factor Analysis

Factor analysis of the original long form (48 items) led to the refinement and simplification of the scale. This analysis confirmed a clear two-factor structure corresponding to Introjected Regulation and Identified Regulation. Crucially, the factor structure demonstrated that these two subscales captured the core, dynamically relevant reasons for engaging in religious behaviors, supporting the decision to exclude items related to external regulation and intrinsic motivation.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report questionnaire, Psychological Inventory

Format: 12 items, utilizing a 7-point Likert scale.

Language Available: English (original).

Population Group: Adults (originally validated on a Christian population, but highly adaptable for general religious studies).

Age Group: Adolescent to Adult.

Population Details: Suitable for individuals who engage in or reflect upon religious practices and beliefs.

Test Methodology: Respondents rate the truthfulness of various reasons for engaging in four specific religious behaviors (sharing faith, turning to God, praying alone, attending church) using a 7-point scale ranging from 1 (“not at all true”) to 7 (“very true”).

Keywords

Religious internalization, short form scale, controlled motivation, autonomous motivation, psychometrics, faith, spirituality, Ryan, Rigby, King.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A (Information not available in source content)

Affiliation Email addresses: N/A (Information not available in source content)

Correspondence Address: N/A (Information not available in source content)

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The scale was developed and validated in 1993. The authors, associated with the research on Self-Determination Theory, generally make their instruments available for academic research purposes. Further details on usage permissions can often be found via the Self-Determination Theory official website: http://selfdeterminationtheory.org.

Reference’s

Ryan, R. M., Rigby, S., & King, K. (1993). Two types of religious internalization and their relations to religious orientations and mental health. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 586-596.

The SRQ-R is also reviewed and reproduced in:

Hill, P. C., & Hood, R. W., Jr. (Eds.) (1999). Measures of religiosity (pp. 124-127). Birmingham, AL: Religious Education Press.

Items of the Religious Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SRQ-R)

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

Religious Behaviors

This questionnaire has four statements, each of which is followed by three possible responses. Please read the first statement, and then consider each response. Indicate how true each response is for you, using the following scale.

1	2	3	4	5	6	7
not at all true			somewhat true			very true

A. One reason I think it’s important to actively share my faith with others is:

1. Because God is important to me and I’d like other people to know about Him too.
2. Because I would feel bad about myself if I didn’t.
3. Because I want other Christians to approve of me.

B. When I turn to God, I most often do it because:

4. I enjoy spending time with Him.
5. I would feel guilty if I didn’t.
6. I find it is satisfying to me.

C. A reason I think praying by myself is important is:

7. Because if I don’t, God will disapprove of me.
8. Because I enjoy praying.
9. Because I find prayer satisfying.

D. An important reason why I attend church is:

10. Because one is supposed to go to church.
11. By going to church I learn new things.
12. Because others would disapprove of me if I didn’t.