Christian Liberalism Scale

Abstract

The Christian Liberalism Scale (CLS) is a brief psychological instrument developed by R. J. Stellway (1973) to measure an individual’s adherence to the core theological assumptions, anthropological views, and epistemological framework characteristic of liberal Christianity. Stellway’s primary motivation was to operationalize this construct precisely, moving beyond the traditional approach of defining religious liberalism merely as the absence of fundamentalism or orthodoxy. The scale was specifically designed to test the predicted positive correlation between religious orientation and sociopolitical liberalism.

The CLS consists of six positively scored statements answered on a 5-point scale. Total scores, computed by summing responses, range from 6 (low liberalism) to 30 (high liberalism). The instrument conceptualizes liberal Christianity as emphasizing the natural over the supernatural regarding God, prioritizing the dignity and creative potential of humanity over orthodox notions of sin, and favoring reason and empiricism over revelation as means of obtaining reliable knowledge.

Keywords

Christian Liberalism, Religious Orientation, Sociopolitical Liberalism, Theology, Liberal Christianity, Attitude Scale, Stellway, Empirical Research, Religious Psychology.

Authors

R. J. Stellway

[quads id=5]

Purpose

The central purpose of the Christian Liberalism Scale (CLS) is twofold: first, to provide a concise and specific operationalization of Christian liberalism as a positive commitment rather than a residual category; and second, to investigate the relationship between this religious orientation and corresponding attitudes toward social and political issues. Stellway created the scale to rigorously test the hypothesis that religious and sociopolitical liberalism are positively correlated.

While previous research often inferred religious liberalism from a lack of fundamentalism or orthodoxy, Stellway argued for the need to measure the construct directly and precisely, providing a tool useful for sociological and psychological research concerning religious belief systems and their behavioral correlates.

Construct

The scale measures Christian Liberalism, which is defined by a specific set of theological, anthropological, and epistemological assumptions. The theological dimension includes describing God in natural rather than purely supernatural terms. Anthropologically, the construct emphasizes the inherent dignity and creative potential of human beings, minimizing the focus on orthodox notions of sin.

Epistemologically, the construct reflects a confidence in human reason and empirical methods as the most reliable sources of trustworthy knowledge, often valuing these approaches over divine revelation. This composite view differentiates the construct from traditional conservatism or fundamentalism by highlighting specific commitments to modern thought and humanistic values within a Christian context.

Validity

Stellway reported several findings supporting the construct validity of the scale. Crucially, the Christian Liberalism Scale demonstrated significant inverse correlation with a measure of Christian conservatism (r = -.48), confirming that the scale successfully distinguished between the two opposing religious orientations. This provides strong evidence for divergent validity.

Furthermore, after statistically controlling for confounding variables such as education and occupational status, the CLS showed predicted positive correlations with key sociopolitical attitudes. These included a belief that free enterprise should be controlled (r = .22), a commitment to using law to improve conditions for disadvantaged groups (r = .19), and a self-reported liberal sociopolitical preference (r = .18). These correlations support the scale’s hypothesized link between religious and political ideology.

The validity evidence was particularly robust when tested among subjects with unfulfilled occupational aspirations. Within this subgroup, the partial correlations strengthened considerably: belief in controlling free enterprise (r = .49), liberal sociopolitical preference (r = .35), and an inverse relationship with a conservative defense of the status quo in American society (r = -.34). This suggests the scale’s predictive power may be moderated by socioeconomic factors.

Reliability

Stellway (1973) supplied no data regarding the internal consistency or test-retest reliability of the Christian Liberalism Scale in the original publication. Therefore, standard reliability coefficients, such as Cronbach’s Alpha, are unavailable for the initial validation sample. Users of the CLS are advised to establish reliability estimates whenever the instrument is employed in new research contexts.

Factor Analysis

Information regarding the factor structure or confirmatory factor analysis of the Christian Liberalism Scale was not reported in Stellway’s original 1973 article. Given the brevity of the scale (six items), it is presumed to measure a single, unitary dimension of Christian liberalism, although empirical verification of this structure is lacking.

Instrument

Test Type: Attitude Scale / Self-Report Questionnaire

Format: Six positively scored statements utilizing a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Total scores range from 6 to 30.

Language Available: English (Original)

Population Group: Adults (Specifically, male heads-of-households)

Age Group: 25 to 50 years old (Original standardization sample)

Population Details: The original standardization sample consisted of 322 white male heads-of-households residing in rural areas and a small town in west-central Illinois. Stellway noted that due to the highly specific nature of this restricted sample, the resulting data would not be suitable for establishing acceptable research norms for broader populations.

Test Methodology: Originally administered via interviews, the scale items are suitable for combination into a simple self-report questionnaire. Administration is rapid, typically requiring five minutes or less for completion.

Keywords

Religious Beliefs, Sociological Quarterly, Stellway 1973, Christian Conservatism, Theological Liberalism, Psychometrics.

[quads id=5]

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not reported

Affiliation Email addresses: Not reported

Correspondence Address: Not reported (Original source: Stellway, R. J. (1973). The correspondence between religious orientation and sociopolitical liberalism and conservatism. Sociological Quarterly. 14, 430-439.)

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Test Year: 1973

Permissions and Fees: The scale items were published openly in the academic literature. Users should cite the original source (Stellway, 1973) when utilizing the instrument. The original article is copyrighted by the Midwest Sociological Society.

Reference’s

• Hunter, J. D. (1981). Operationalizing evangelicalism: A review, critique and proposal. Sociological Analysis, 42, 363-372.

• Pyle, R. E. (1993). Faith and commitment to the poor: Theological orientation and support for government assistance measures. Sociology of Religion, 54, 385-401.

• Stellway, R. I. (1973). The correspondence between religious orientation and sociopolitical liberalism and conservatism. Sociological Quarterly, 14, 430-439. Copyright© 1973 by the Midwest Sociological Society.

[quads id=5]

Items of the CHRISTIAN LIBERALISM SCALE

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

The items below should be preceded by standard questionnaire instructions. Subjects respond to each statement using the following response options: “strongly agree” (5), “agree” (4), “neutral or no opinion” (3), “disagree” (2), and “strongly disagree” (1).

1. Science and religion are both equally good ways to find truth.
2. Biblical miracles did not happen as the Bible says they did but have been used as examples.
3. “God” and “Nature” are in some ways the same thing.
4. It is more important that we believe that Jesus was a great prophet than that he was God’s only son.
5. Some Biblical miracles really happened as the Bible says they did but others can be explained by natural causes.
6. If a man does good for others, he will enjoy fellowship with God.