Attitude Toward Evangelism Scale

Abstract

The Attitude toward Evangelism Scale (ATES) is a 21-item psychometric instrument developed to measure an individual’s openness to the rights of religious groups to engage in evangelism. The scale utilizes a standard 5-point Likert format, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Items were rigorously selected from an initial pool of 80 based on their ability to differentiate between high and low scorers in a preliminary sample of introductory psychology students. The scale is conceptualized as multidimensional, reflecting attitudes toward both public promulgation of faith and interpersonal visitation for conversion. Seven of the 21 items are reverse scored.

Keywords

Evangelism, Religious Attitude, Social Psychology, Psychometrics, Religious Identity, Public Outreach, Likert Scale, Religious Conversion, Construct Validity, Reliability.

Authors

Seyfarth, L. H., Larsen, K. S., Lamont, K., Haasch, C., Hale, T., Haskin, D.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Attitude toward Evangelism Scale is to quantify the extent to which individuals accept or reject the practice of religious groups attempting to secure converts. The authors specifically focused on capturing attitudes toward two principal components of evangelism: public promulgation (sharing faith in public spaces or media to recruit converts) and visitation (securing conversions through direct, interpersonal contact with individuals or families).

The scale defines evangelism as “the employment of religious ideology in intensive direct contacts with prospective recruits” (p. 56). It serves as a tool for researchers in social psychology and the sociology of religion to assess tolerance, openness, or resistance to active religious recruitment efforts, providing a standardized measure for comparing different demographic or religious groups.

Construct

The underlying construct measured is the attitude held by an individual regarding the legitimacy and appropriateness of evangelism. This construct is not monolithic but rather multidimensional, reflecting various facets of tolerance, respect for religious freedom, and personal boundaries concerning religious solicitation.

The scale items address reactions to specific evangelistic methods, including public testimony, door-to-door interactions, and the general principle of spreading religious beliefs. The 21 items are designed to capture the complexity of this attitude, ensuring a balanced measure of the latent construct through the inclusion of reverse-scored items.

Validity

The scale demonstrated evidence of construct validity through correlations with related measures. A significant construct validity correlation coefficient of 0.76 was reported between the Attitude toward Evangelism Scale and the Fanaticism scale derived from Putney and Middleton’s (1961) Dimensions of Religious Ideology Scale. This strong correlation suggests that favorable attitudes toward evangelism are closely linked to higher levels of religious intensity or fanaticism.

Further validation was established by examining known-groups differences. Consistent with theoretical expectations, higher evangelism scores were reported among Protestants versus non-Protestants, among those claiming a religious identity versus those claiming none, and among individuals categorized as “active in religion” versus those “inactive in religion.” Additionally, Protestants affiliated with “high-outreach” denominations scored significantly higher than those from “low-outreach” denominations, reinforcing the scale’s ability to discriminate based on expected religious behavior and belief systems.

Reliability

The Attitude toward Evangelism Scale demonstrates high internal reliability, a crucial metric for the consistency of a psychometric instrument. The authors employed the split-half reliability method to assess consistency among the items.

The uncorrected split-half reliability coefficient was determined to be 0.83. When corrected using the Spearman-Brown prophecy formula, the reliability coefficient increased to 0.91, indicating excellent internal consistency suitable for rigorous academic and research application.

Factor Analysis

Exploratory factor analysis, conducted using item loadings of at least 0.30, revealed that the construct of attitude toward evangelism is multidimensional. Four distinct factors were identified, though two factors remained conceptually unidentified by the original authors.

The identified factors, with items listed in decreasing correlational order, are:

• Factor I: Respect for the courage to stand up for one’s beliefs (items 9, 4, 7, 18, 3, 13, 10, 1, 16, 8, and 17)
• Factor 2: Interpersonal approach (items 19, 20, 14, 12, 2, and 5)
• Factor 3: Not identified (items 5 and 15)
• Factor 4: Not identified (item 11)

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report psychometric scale

Format: 21 items utilizing a 5-point Likert format (1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree). Seven items are reverse scored (R).

Language Available: English (Original research context)

Population Group: General population, standardized primarily on university students.

Age Group: Late adolescence to early adulthood (Range 18–37 years).

Population Details: The initial sample (N=130) consisted of introductory psychology students at Oregon State University in Fall 1980. The sample was equally divided between males and females, with a mean age of 19.58. A second sample was used for reliability and validity testing (55% male; mean age 20.65). Note: No descriptive statistical data (means, standard deviations) were reported for either sample.

Test Methodology: Standard paper-and-pencil administration. The scale is straightforward, requires no special considerations, and typically takes no more than 10 minutes to complete.

Keywords

Religious Tolerance, Construct Validity, Religious Outreach, Door-to-door, Public Faith, Spearman-Brown, Psychometrics, Religious Behavior, Factor analysis.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A (Information not provided in original source documentation)

Affiliation Email addresses: N/A (Information not provided in original source documentation)

Correspondence Address: N/A (Information not provided in original source documentation)

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Test Year: 1984

Permissions and Fees: The scale was published in the Journal of Social Psychology. Researchers should contact the original authors or the publisher for formal permission regarding commercial use or adaptations. No specific fee structure was provided in the original publication.

Reference’s

Seyfarth, L. H., Larsen, K. S., Lamont, K., Haasch, C., Hale, T., & Haskin, D. (1984). Attitude toward evangelism: Scale development and validity. Journal of Social Psychology, 123, 55-61.

Putney, S., & Middleton, R. (1961). Dimensions and correlates of religious ideologies. Social Forces, 39, 285-290.

Items of the ATTITUDE TOWARD EVANGELISM SCALE

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

Please respond to each of the 21 items below by using the following rating scale.

• 1 = strongly disagree
• 2 = disagree
• 3 = neutral
• 4 = agree
• 5 = strongly agree

1. I like to listen to a religious evangelist.
2. Religious soliciting is an infringement on my right to privacy. (R)
3. There is a strong need for more people to openly attempt to convert others.
4. People testifying to their faith are an inspiration to me.
5. People who wish to spread their beliefs should be restricted to a designated area. (R)
6. Religion shouldn’t be pushed. (R)
7. It is time that more people listen to religious spokesmen.
8. Freedom to seek religious converts is important to me.
9. I am thrilled when someone approaches me with the story of what God has done for him and can do for me.
10. If a person believes he knows the word of God, it is his duty to spread it.
11.  I don’t like it when people push their religion on me in public places. (R)
12. Door-to-door evangelists deserve at least two minutes of listening time.
13. I love it when someone speaks in public of his faith.
14. Religious solicitors who go door-to-door are often helpful.
15. I’m annoyed at people who feel it is necessary that the rest of the world must conform to their beliefs and standards. (R)
16. I hate it when I am approached on matters of religion. (R)
17. If people who “sell” religion could convert everyone, we would have a much better society.
18. When someone publicly shares his testimony with me, I take it as a great gift.
19. It doesn’t bother me to see religious evangelists going door-to-door.
20. Religious evangelizing is an invasion of privacy. (R)
21. I like people who come door-to-door to bring God to me.