Religious Attitude Inventory

Abstract

The Religious Attitude Inventory (RAI), also known as the Religious Attitude Scale, was developed by Poppleton and Pilkington in 1963. It is a 21-item psychometric instrument designed to measure the attitude of British university students toward the Christianity. The scale assesses the degree of agreement with statements concerning core religious tenets, the necessity of religion for moral development, and overall well-being. Unlike previous measures that sought to categorize respondents into distinct groups, the RAI generates scores along a continuous spectrum, ranging from a strong antireligious attitude to a strong pro-religious attitude. Development was restricted to populations identifying as Christian, agnostic, or atheist to ensure a focused measurement dimension.

The scale employs a 5-point Likert-type scale format, and final scoring involves weighted responses derived from Thurstone scale values. The measure was standardized using a stratified random sample of 463 students from the University of Sheffield and demonstrated high internal reliability (Cronbach’s alpha = .97).

Keywords

Religious Attitude Scale, Attitude Measurement, Christian Beliefs, University Students, Psychometrics, Agnosticism, Atheism, Likert-type scale.

Authors

Poppleton, P., Pilkington, G.

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Purpose

The primary purpose of the Religious Attitude Inventory (RAI) was to create a precise, continuous measure of religious sentiment among British university students. At the time of its development, existing instruments were often directed toward a more general population, specific only to American students, or designed merely to obtain two distinct groups rather than capturing the subtlety of attitudes along a continuum.

The authors aimed to develop a rigorous tool capable of differentiating nuanced levels of belief concerning the fundamental tenets of Christianity and the perceived role of religion in fostering moral conduct and personal well-being. By restricting the development population to Christians, agnostics, and atheists, the scale minimized extraneous dimensions of belief, ensuring the output reflected a focused attitude continuum ranging from extremely pro-religious to extremely anti-religious.

Construct

The RAI measures Religious Attitude, defined as the individual’s overall evaluative stance—positive or negative—toward the Christian religion and its perceived necessity for personal and societal well-being. This construct is viewed as a single, bipolar continuum.

The construct is quantified through agreement or disagreement with 21 weighted statements covering theological claims (e.g., divinity of Christ, acceptance of miracles), moral implications (e.g., necessity of religion for a good life), and the compatibility of faith with scientific reason. Final scores range from a minimum of 40, indicating a strong antireligious attitude, to a maximum of 130, indicating a strong pro-religious attitude.

Validity

Criterion Validity was established by demonstrating the scale’s ability to differentiate between two groups defined by their actual religious commitment and activity. The researchers established criterion groups based on stringent self-reported behaviors and beliefs.

The pro-religious group consisted of active participants (those reporting active church membership, church attendance more than three times monthly, and praying privately at least weekly). The anti-religious group comprised individuals identifying as atheist or agnostic. Results showed highly effective differentiation: the scores on the Religious Attitude Scale did not overlap between the two groups. The anti-religious group registered a median score of 60, while the pro-religious group yielded a significantly higher median score of 116. This clear separation confirms the scale’s ability to accurately measure the intended construct across the pro/anti religious spectrum.

Reliability

The authors utilized two robust methods to assess the internal consistency and reliability of the Religious Attitude Inventory, both yielding highly positive results.

First, the scale was divided into three distinct sections, and subsequent correlation analysis showed that these sections correlated above .95, strongly suggesting excellent internal consistency across the measure’s components. Second, the primary psychometric measure of internal reliability, Cronbach’s alpha, was calculated for the entire scale. This coefficient resulted in a score of .97, indicating the scale possesses very good reliability for use in research settings.

Factor Analysis

The source documentation does not detail a formal factor analysis used during the item reduction process. However, the scale’s construction methodology was inherently designed to maximize unidimensionality by limiting the target population to individuals whose beliefs clustered around the single dimension of attitude toward Christianity (Christians, agnostics, and atheists).

The RAI is structured using weighted responses corresponding to Thurstone scale values (ranging from 0 to 11, where low values indicate pro-religious attitudes and high values indicate anti-religious attitudes). This weighting method, derived from the initial pilot study, ensures that each item contributes appropriately to the overall measurement of the single, continuous attitude construct.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report Attitude Scale

Format: 21 items, 5-point Likert-type scale (Strongly Agree, Agree, Uncertain, Disagree, Strongly Disagree). Scoring involves weighted responses.

Language Available: English

Population Group: University Students

Age Group: Higher Education Students (typically young adults)

Population Details: The scale was standardized on a stratified random sample of 463 students from the University of Sheffield across all disciplines and years of study. It is specifically directed toward students with Christian, atheist, or agnostic backgrounds and is not recommended for use with other religious populations.

Test Methodology: Brief, self-administered questionnaire taking approximately 15 minutes. No special directions are needed for administration, but scoring requires a key due to the use of weighted responses. Scores range from 40 to 130.

Keywords

Psychological Measurement, Religious Beliefs, Cronbach’s alpha, Standardization, Validity, Thurstone Scaling, British Psychology.

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Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided in source.

Correspondence Address: Not provided in source.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Test Year: 1963

Permissions/Copyright: The original publication is copyrighted by The British Psychological Society (© 1963).

Fee: Information regarding current licensing fees or permissions for widespread use is not detailed in the source material.

Reference’s

• Poppleton, P., & Pilkington, G. (1963). Religious Attitude Scale, in “The Measurement of Religious Attitudes in a University Population,” British Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 2, 20-36.
• Morris, P.A. (1982). The effect of pilgrimage on anxiety, depression and religious attitude. Psychological Medicine, 12, 291-294.
• Pilkington, G. W., Poppleton, P., Gould, J., & McCourt, M. (1976). Changes in religious beliefs, practices and attitudes among university students over an eleven-year period in relation to sex differences, denominational differences between faculties and years of study. British Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 15, 1-9.
• Thurstone, L. L., & Chave, E. J. (1929). The Measurement of Attitude. (Cited in original source.)
• Eysenck, H. J. (1947). Dimensions of Personality. (Cited in original source.)
• Brown, L. B., & Lowe, R. (1951). Measurement of Religious Beliefs. (Cited in original source.)

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Items of the RELIGIOUS ATTITUDE INVENTORY

Below are 21 statements that concern religious beliefs. Please indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with each of them. On the right-hand side of the page you will find five alternative answers. Place an “X” opposite each statement in the column that best represents your opinion.

Please do not leave out any statements even if you find it difficult to make up your mind.

The numbers in parentheses after each statement refer to the Thurstone scale values of the items. Values range from 0 to 11. Low values indicate pro-religious and high values antireligious attitudes. Weights are indicated by the numbers in the ruled columns and should not be included when administering this scale.