GOD IMAGE INVENTORY

Abstract

The God Image Inventory (GII), developed by R. T. Lawrence (1991), is a 156-item psychometric instrument designed to assess an individual’s God image—the intuitive, affectively laden sense of God, distinct from the intellectualized God concept. The GII is structured around three core themes related to self-image: control, belonging, and fundamental goodness, as theorized by Lawrence (1991) and influenced by object relations theory (Rizzuto, 1979). It employs a four-point Likert scale for scoring.

The inventory comprises six main subscales—Influence, Providence, Presence, Challenge, Acceptance, and Benevolence—each consisting of 22 items. Additionally, it includes two 12-item control scales, Faith and Salience, which measure belief in God’s existence and the importance of the relationship with God, respectively. The GII demonstrates high internal consistency reliability (ranging from .85 to .94) and was standardized on a national sample of 1,580 adult American Christians for use in research, pastoral, and clinical settings.

Keywords

God Image Inventory, GII, God image, religious psychology, psychometrics, Influence, Providence, Presence, Challenge, Acceptance, Benevolence, R. T. Lawrence, self-image, object relations theory.

Authors

R. T. Lawrence.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the GII is to quantify and assess the individual’s God image, defined as the subjective, intuitive, and affectively charged experience of God, rather than focusing solely on theological beliefs (God concept). Lawrence (1991) designed the instrument to measure this felt sense of God based on remembered and interpreted associations and experiences.

The scale’s structure is rooted in the hypothesis that the God image is closely related to self-image, specifically concerning the themes of control, belonging, and goodness, following insights from object relations theory (Rizzuto, 1979). By measuring these dimensions, the GII allows researchers and clinicians to explore the dynamic relationship between an individual’s internal psychological structure and their spiritual perceptions, providing a tool for pastoral and clinical intervention.

Construct

The GII assesses eight distinct psychological constructs related to the perception of God. The six principal scales are systematically derived from three core themes related to self-image and relational dynamics:

• Theme 1: Control (Relationship to Power): This theme is divided into two subscales. Influence (measuring the primitive desire to control God: “How much can I control God?”) and Providence (measuring God’s control over the self: “How much does God control me?”).
• Theme 2: Belonging (Attachment and Availability): Drawing on attachment theory (Bowlby, 1969; Kirkpatrick, 1986) and the work of Winnicott (1953), this theme yields two subscales. Presence (reflecting the need for a ‘Safe Haven,’ asking “Is God there for me?”) and Challenge (reflecting the need for a ‘Secure Base,’ asking “Does God want me to grow?”).
• Theme 3: Goodness (Worthiness and Nature of God): This theme addresses fundamental worthiness, resulting in Acceptance (primitive focus on self-worth: “Am I good enough for God to love?”) and Benevolence (reflexive focus on God’s nature: “Is God the sort of Being who would want to love me?”).

The two supplemental Control Scales measure aspects of religious commitment: Faith assesses the subject’s belief in God as an existing being, and Salience measures the degree to which the relationship with God is perceived as important to personal life. Scores range from 22 to 88 for main subscales and 12 to 48 for control scales; a higher score indicates a greater degree of the measured trait.

Validity

The validity of the GII was investigated through factor analysis, as well as convergent and discriminant validity testing against external measures (Lawrence, 1991). The factor structure analysis did not fully confirm the hypothesized eight-factor model (see Factor Analysis section), but subsequent correlational studies provided robust support for specific subscale validity.

Key findings supporting Convergent Validity included strong correlations between the GII scales and measures of intrinsic religiosity. Specifically, the Salience scale correlated highest with overall intrinsic religiosity (.76), and the Presence scale correlated second highest (.69), confirming the theoretical link between God’s perceived relational importance and availability, and overall religious commitment. Furthermore, the Acceptance Scale correlated positively with the Self-Esteem Scale (.54), supporting the theory that self-worth is tied to the perceived acceptance by God.

However, the GII demonstrated some limitations in fulfilling all predictive hypotheses. For instance, the Achievement Scale did not correlate positively with the Challenge Scale as expected, and the Altruism Scale showed a narrow range of correlations across all GII scales (.22 to .26), failing to effectively discriminate between the Benevolence and Acceptance dimensions.

Reliability

The God Image Inventory demonstrates strong psychometric reliability, particularly concerning internal consistency reliability and temporal stability (Lawrence, 1991).

Internal Consistency: Initial reliability coefficients (Cronbach’s Alpha) for the main scales and control scales ranged from 0.86 (Challenge) to 0.94 (Presence). These results were based on recomputations from the original large survey. A subsequent check on a new sample yielded essentially identical coefficients, maintaining a range from 0.85 (Challenge) to 0.94 (Presence), confirming the consistency of item measurement within each subscale.

Temporal Stability: Lawrence assessed temporal stability by computing interscale correlations on two separate occasions. The average difference found between the two sets of interscale correlations was negligible (0.03). The correlations ranged from 0.44 (Providence with Benevolence) to 0.84 (Presence with Influence). This stable pattern of intercorrelations across measurement points supports the conclusion that the GII scales exhibit good temporal stability.

Factor Analysis

The initial factor analysis of the God Image Inventory, performed using oblique rotation, did not fully support the eight-factor structure (six main scales and two control scales) that Lawrence had theoretically hypothesized based on the underlying themes of control, belonging, and goodness.

The analysis instead extracted 10 distinct factors. Furthermore, the item loadings were not exclusive to their predicted subscales; seven of the factors identified contained items drawn from at least two different GII scales. This finding suggests that while the constructs are distinct conceptually, they exhibit significant empirical overlap or complexity in their measurement, indicating a high degree of intercorrelation among the scales.

Instrument

Test Type: Psychometric Inventory/Self-Report Scale

Format: 156 items, scored on a four-point Likert scale. Response options are: Strongly Agree (SA), Agree (A), Disagree (D), and Strongly Disagree (SD). Many items are negatively worded and require reverse scoring. Scores are calculated by summing items in each subscale.

Language Available: English (Original Standardization)

Population Group: Adult American Christians

Age Group: Adult (Scores were demonstrated to be adequate for interpretation across various adult demographics.)

Population Details: Standardization sample consisted of 1,580 respondents. Norms were established to be adequate for interpretation across sex, age, education, and marital status. Subscale means ranged from 36.1 (Salience) to 73.3 (Benevolence).

Test Methodology: Self-administered questionnaire. Instructions emphasize that there are no “right” or “wrong” answers. It is designed for use in research, pastoral counseling, and clinical settings and requires no specialized examiner skill for administration or scoring.

Keywords

Religious Beliefs, Spirituality, Psychological Assessment, Affective Experience, Self-Image, Attachment Theory, Internal Consistency, Psychometric Scale.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A

Affiliation Email addresses: N/A

Correspondence Address: N/A

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Test Year: 1991 (Original 156-item version published in doctoral dissertation). Note that a shorter, 72-item version (God Image Scales) was subsequently published in 1997 by Lawrence (Journal of Psychology and Theology, 25(2), 214-226).

Permissions/Availability: Researchers seeking to use the GII should consult the author, R. T. Lawrence, or the relevant academic publications for permissions and licensing information.

Reference’s

Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss: Vol. I: Attachment. New York: Basic Books.

Kirkpatrick, L. A. (1986). Developmental psychology and religion: Potential application of attachment theory for the psychology of religion. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, Washington D.C.

Lawrence, R. T. (1991). The God Image Inventory: The development, validation, and standardization of a psychometric instrument for research, pastoral and clinical use in measuring the image of God. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, The Catholic University of America, Washington D. C.

Lawrence, R. T. (1997). Measuring the image of God: The God Image Inventory and the God Image Scales, Journal of Psychology and Theology, 25(2), 214-226.

Rizzuto, A. (1979). The birth of the living God. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Winnicott, D. W. (1953). Transitional objects and transitional phenomena. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 34, 91.

Subsequent Research References:

• Key, T. L. (1995). Impact of inpatient psychiatric treatment on object relations maturity, self-esteem and God image (Doctoral dissertation, Rosemead Graduate School of Psychology, Biola University, 1995). Dissertation Abstracts International, 55, B5568.
• Knapp, C. L. (1993). Personality transformation and belief in God: An object relations understanding of the spiritual awakening program of alcoholics anonymous. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Andover Newton Theological School, Newton Center, MA.

Items of the GOD IMAGE INVENTORY

Please respond to each statement by circling the response that comes closest to describing your feelings:

• SA, for Strongly Agree, if the statement is a particularly good way of describing how you feel about God.
• A, for agree, if the statement just adequately describes your feelings about God.
• D, for Disagree, if the statement does not adequately describe your feelings about God.
• SD, for Strongly Disagree, if the statement is a particularly bad way of describing your feelings about God.

1. God does not notice me. (P)*
2. I would live the same way whether I believed in God or not. (S)*
3. I sometimes think of God while drifting off to sleep. (P)
4. When I do wrong, God’s back is turned on me. (A)*
5. When I obey God’s rules, God makes good things happen for me. (I)
6. God lifts me up. (P)
7. God keeps calling me to develop myself. (C)
8. I think human achievements are a threat to God. (C)
9. The world would make no sense to me without God. (F)
10. I imagine God to be rather formal, almost standoffish. (B)*
11. I can see the direct hand of God in many things. (Pr)
12. God guides me like a good parent. (Pr)
13. God wants me to avoid the world as much as possible. (C)*
14. My growth in maturity is pleasing to God. (C)
15. I am sometimes anxious about whether God still loves me. (A)*
16. My belief in God is as solid as a rock. (F)
17. Asking God for help rarely does me any good. (I)*
18. I am confident of God’s love for me. (A)
19. I am never sure that God is really listening to me. (P)*
20. I know I’m not perfect, but God loves me anyway. (A)
21. God does not seem to notice when I cry. (P)*
22. I have sometimes felt that I have committed the unforgivable sin. (A)*
23. The voice of God tells me what to do. (Pr)
24. My belief in God has made a big difference in my life. (S)
25. Even when I mess things up, I know God will straighten them out. (Pr)
26. I am not very sure what God is really like. (F)*
27. God never challenges me. (C)*
28. Thinking too much could endanger my faith. (C)*
29. I think of God as more compassionate than demanding. (B)
30. One source of my own self-respect is God’s love for me. (A)
31. I get what I pray for. (I)
32. I try to be good because I know how much God love’s me. (A)
33. I can feel God deep inside of me. (P)
34. God’s love for me has no strings attached. (A)
35. God doesn’t feel very personal to me. (P)*
36. No matter how hard I pray, it doesn’t do any good. (I)*
37. Even when I do bad things, I know God still loves me. (A)
38. My belief in God is central to my life. (S)
39. I can talk to God on an intimate basis. (P)
40. God is always there for me. (P)
41. I have often changed my beliefs about God. (F)*
42. God nurtures me. (P)
43. God always has time for me. (P)
44. I get no feeling of closeness to God, even in prayer. (P)*
45. God is very patient. (B)
46. God loves me only when I perform perfectly. (A)*
47. I am not sure that my prayers matter to God. (I)*
48. What happens in my life is largely a result of decisions I make. (Pr)*
49. My faith in God helps me make decisions for myself. (C)
50. I think God even loves atheists. (B)
51. God loves me regardless. (A)
52. God takes pleasure in my achievements. (C)
53. I can’t imagine anyone God couldn’t love. (B)
54. God wants me to help transform the world. (C)
55. Sometimes I feel that God doesn’t love me anymore. (A)*
56. I get no help from God even if I pray for it. (I)*
57. I look on challenges in life as gifts from God. (C)*
58. Prayer for me feels like talking to God almost face to face. (P)
59. God can easily be provoked by disobedience. (B)*
60. I am sure there has to be a God. (F)
61. God is not terribly relevant to my life. (S)*
62. God knows me better than to push me very hard. (C)*
63. I often worry about whether God can love me. (A)*
64. God is more of an observer of my life than a participant. (Pr)*
65. God is in control of my life. (Pr)
66. God wants me to achieve all I can in life. (C)
67. I am a very powerful person because of God’s help. (I)
68. Prayer changes things. (I)
69. God will always provide for me. (Pr)*
70. Not even God can change how things will come out. (Pr)*
71. God has always seemed approachable to me. (B)
72. God helps me when I ask for help. (I)
73. My belief in God makes a major difference in the way I live. (S)
74. I doubt that God interferes very much in human affairs. (Pr)*
75. I would pray more if I thought it made a difference, but I don’t think it does. (I)*
76. I think God mostly leaves people free. (Pr)*
77. Everyday things are more important to me than trying to be close to God. (S)*
78. If God listens to prayers, you couldn’t prove it by me. (I)*
79. God helps me to keep going, no matter how hard things are. (C)
80. God is looking for a chance to get even with me. (B)*
81. God’s mercy is for everyone. (B)*
82. God has to forgive my sins, but probably doesn’t really want to. (B)*
83. I doubt that I will be rewarded for following God’s rules. (I)*
84. God’s love for me is unconditional. (A)
85. When I think of God, I feel at peace. (A)
86. My faith gives me some control over what happens to me. (I)
87. I trust in God to take care of me. (Pr)*
88. I know what to do to get God to listen to me. (I)
89. I ask God to help me grow from my troubles. (C)
90. God loves a lot of other people better than me. (A)*
91. I have confidence when I pray. (I)
92. God walks beside me and shows me where to go. (Pr)
93. Leaming too much about the world could endanger my faith in God. (C)*
94. God asks me to keep growing as a person. (C)
95. I think God only loves certain people. (B)*
96. I sometimes don’t know where to look for God. (P)*
97. God almost always answers my prayers. (I)
98. My faith in God is very strong. (F)
99. God doesn’t want me to ask too many questions. (C)*
100. I have often doubted the existence of God. (F)*
101. I do not think about God very often. (S)*
102. I get a great deal out of the time I spend in prayer. (S)
103. God makes few demands on me. (C)*
104. God does not do much to determine the outcome of my life. (Pr)*
105. I am not very firm in my beliefs about God. (F)*
106. God lets the world run by its laws. (Pr)*
107. Sometimes I feel that God is persecuting me. (B)*
108. I would say that I am a God-centered person. (S)
109. Even if my beliefs about God were wrong God would still love me. (B)
110. I am not good enough for God to love. (A)*
111. I think it is best not to get too involved with God. (S)*
112. I have confidence in my beliefs about God. (F)
113. If I became convinced that God did not exist, nothing much in my life would change. (S)*
114. God’s compassion knows no religious boundaries. (B)
115. I sometimes feel cradled in God’s arms. (P)
116. God has never asked me to do hard things. (C)*
117. In making major decisions, I almost always think about my relationship with God. (S)
118. Running the world is more important to God than caring about people. (B)*
119. I often feel that I am in the hands of God. (Pr)*
120. I don’t think my faith gives me any special influence with God. (I)*
121. I am sure that God really exists. (F)
122. Mostly, I have to provide for myself. (Pr)*
123. I feel that God knows me by name. (P)
124. I am particularly drawn to the image of God as a shepherd. (Pr)
125. God does not answer when I call. (P)*
126. I most often feel that I must face my problems alone. (Pr)*
127. God feels distant to me. (P)*
128. I often feel abandoned by God. (P)*
129. I think human achievements are a delight to God. (C)
130. I feel that God has a very specific plan for my life. (Pr)
131. It doesn’t matter if I pray or not. (I)*
132. I rarely feel that God is with me. (P)*
133. I cannot imagine anyone more compassionate than God. (B)*
134. God for me is like a faithful friend. (A)
135. I feel warm inside when I pray. (P)
136. God loves me because God wants to. (B)*
137. I have a hard time believing in God’s mercy. (B)*
138. God’s love is a constant source of comfort to me. (A)
139. I am pretty much responsible for my own life. (Pr)*
140. God has very little influence over my life. (Pr)*
141. I often have nightmares about going to hell. (A)*
142. My ideas about God are pretty vague. (F)*
143. God rarely if ever seems to give me what I ask for. (I)*
144. I think God must enjoy getting even with us when we deserve it. (B)*
145. God encourages me to go forward on the journey of life. (C)
146. God sometimes intervenes at my request. (I)
147. I think God loves us all equally. (B)*
148. I have sometimes wondered whether God really exists. (F)*
149. I am more likely to succeed at something if I ask God for help. (I)
150. God never reached out to me. (P)*
151. God doesn’t mind if I don’t grow very much. (C)*
152. No matter how hard I try to please God, it doesn’t seem to do me any good. (I)*
153. Sometimes I think that not even God could love me. (A)*
154. Sometimes I have nightmares about God. (B)*
155. God’s mercy is only for the chosen few. (B)*
156. I would have to be a lot better person to be sure of God’s love. (A)*

Notations:

• P – Presence subscale items
• C – Challenge subscale items
• A – Acceptance subscale items
• B – Benevolence subscale items
• I – Influence subscale items
• Pr – Providence subscale items
• F – Faith subscale items
• S – Salience subscale items
• *Denotes negatively worded item (reverse-scored)