Religious Expression Scale

Abstract

The Religious Expression Scale (RES) is a multidimensional assessment designed to quantify the way individuals, specifically within the context of Evangelical Christian faith, express their religious conviction. Developed by Boan (1978), the scale focuses on the dichotomy between predominantly intellectual (doctrinal/cognitive) and predominantly affective (experiential/intuitive) modes of faith. The instrument comprises 59 items rated on a six-point Likert scale, supplemented by 24 demographic and religious practice questions. Subsequent factor analysis identified nine distinct dimensions of religious expression, confirming the complex nature of this psychological construct.

Keywords

Religious Expression Scale, D. M. Boan, Religious faith, Affective expression, Intellectual expression, Cognitive orientation, Evangelicalism, Factor analysis, William James

Authors

D. M. Boan

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Religious Expression Scale (RES) is to evaluate the extent to which an individual favors either doctrinal/intellectual or affective/intuitive modes of expressing their Christian faith. The scale aims to provide a quantitative measure of this fundamental psychological dichotomy in religious experience.

The instrument was developed based on the foundational work of William James (1902), who distinguished between intuitive/experiential and doctrinal/intellectual forms of religious faith. Boan further hypothesized that these expressive tendencies might correlate with the distinctive functions associated with the right and left cortical hemispheres of the brain, aligning intellectual expression (left brain) with doctrinal modes and affective expression (right brain) with experiential approaches.

Construct

The core construct measured by the RES is the style or mode of Religious Expression, specifically defined along a continuum anchored by two poles: Intellectual Expression and Affective Expression. Intellectual expression encompasses doctrinal understanding, philosophical concerns, systematic belief, and rigorous study of scripture.

Conversely, Affective Expression incorporates emotionality, intense religious experiences, reliance on social support, intuitive guidance (such as the Holy Spirit), and personal spiritual feelings. The scale is thus a multidimensional tool capturing various facets of how faith is practiced and experienced within the Evangelical context.

Validity

The validation process for the Religious Expression Scale involved four primary steps aimed at establishing sensitivity, factor structure, criterion-related validity, and construct validity. Step one evaluated the instrument’s sensitivity by analyzing the frequency distribution of responses for potential ceiling or basement effects across all Likert-scale items.

Step two confirmed the underlying structure through a Factor Analysis of the total sample, demonstrating the emergence of a clear factor structure reflecting the anticipated intellectual versus emotional/intuitive modes of religious expression. Step three established criterion-related validity by measuring the scale’s ability to predict seminary affiliation (Talbot vs. Melodyland). A discriminant analysis successfully predicted seminary membership with 72.9% accuracy, indicating reasonable predictive validity. Finally, construct validity (step four) was assessed by examining the correspondence between the nine derived factors (Part 1) and the subjects’ reported religious practices (Part 2), which generally showed a strong correlation between the favored mode of religious expression and observed religious practices.

Reliability

The reliability of the Religious Expression Scale was assessed primarily through measures of internal consistency. Spearman-Brown correlation coefficients were calculated for the items within each of the nine factors.

The analysis yielded coefficient values consistently above 0.80 for all factors, indicating high internal consistency across the measured subscales. However, data regarding test-retest reliability coefficients are not currently available for this instrument.

Factor Analysis

A comprehensive factor analysis was conducted using data from several hundred participants representing a variety of church backgrounds. This analysis successfully identified nine distinct factors underlying the construct of religious expression captured by the 59 Likert-scale items:

• General religious commitment: Reflects overall religiosity.
• Intellectual emphasis: Pertains to the intellectuality of religious expression.
• Affective emphasis: Focuses on the emotionality of religious expression.
• Philosophical orientation: Relates to religious philosophical and existential concerns.
• Intense affective experience: Measures concern with strong emotional experiences in faith.
• Social/emotionally-dependent style: Emphasizes an emotional faith reliant on the support and community of others.
• Bible teaching orientation: Highlights the emphasis placed on the teaching and study of the scriptures.
• Social affective style: Focuses on witnessing, outreach, and sharing personal emotional experiences with others.
• Miscellaneous religiosity items: Statements that did not significantly load onto any of the preceding eight primary factors.

Instrument

Test Type: Psychological Scale; Self-Report Questionnaire

Format: The instrument consists of two parts. Part 1 contains 59 statements rated on a 6-point Likert scale (1 = disagree strongly to 6 = agree strongly). Part 2 consists of 24 open-ended and descriptive questions regarding demographics (e.g., age, sex, education), current religious practices (e.g., church attendance, Bible study frequency), and recent life experiences (e.g., moving, job changes, stress situations).

Language Available: English

Population Group: Adults within the context of Evangelical Christian denominations.

Age Group: Adult

Population Details: The initial standardization sample included three distinct adult groups from Southern California (N=283 total): students from Talbot Theological Seminary (expected intellectual focus), students from Melodyland School of Theology (expected charismatic/affective focus), and general church members from various fundamentalist, evangelical, and charismatic organizations. No group means or standard deviations were reported by the author.

Test Methodology: The scale is self-explanatory and easy to administer. Scoring is non-standardized; however, subsequent research (Ash et al., 1996) utilized the factor loadings from Boan’s dissertation to develop subscale scores by multiplying item responses by their factor loading and summing the products for a total factor score.

Keywords

Religious psychology, Affective faith, Intellectual faith, Christian spirituality, Psychometrics, Internal consistency, Predictive validity, Boan (1978)

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not available

Affiliation Email addresses: Not available

Correspondence Address: Based on doctoral dissertation location: Rosemead Graduate School of Professional Psychology, Biola University, La Mirada, CA.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Test Year: 1977 (Dissertation completion)

Permissions and Fee: Information regarding commercial usage fees or formal copyright permissions is not specified in the primary source documentation. The scale originated as a doctoral dissertation instrument.

Reference’s

• Ash, C., Crist, C., Salisbury, D., Dewell, M., & Boivin, M. J. (1996). Unilateral and bilateral brain hemispheric advantage on visual matching tasks and their relationship to styles of religiosity. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 24, 133-154.
• Boan, D. M. (1978). The development and validation of a measure of religious expression (Doctoral dissertation, Rosemead Graduate School of Professional Psychology, Biola University, La Mirada, CA, 1977). Dissertation Abstracts International, 40-04B, 1864.
• James, W. (1902). The varieties of religious experience. New York: Random House.

Items of the RELIGIOUS EXPRESSION SCALE

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

The following is a survey designed to determine the manner in which a person expresses his/her religious faith. It consists of a list of statements about religion and religious experiences, followed by a series of more general questions.

I would like you to rate each item as to whether or not you agree with it as a description of your own religious faith or behavior. This rating will be done according to the following scales:

• I – disagree strongly
• 2 – disagree mildly
• 3 – disagree slightly
• 4 – agree slightly
• 5 – agree mildly
• 6 – agree strongly

In making your answer, just circle the appropriate number after each item. All information is strictly confidential, so please do not put your name anywhere on this test.

1. For myself, reading the Bible is most important for understanding the truths of God’s revelation.
2. In relating to non-Christians, I would feel most comfortable speaking about the philosophical soundness of my experience.
3. I would say that I express my faith primarily through the intellectual areas of my life.
4. For myself, the Bible is interpreted through the direct and immediate guidance of the Holy Spirit.
5. To me, the beauty of Christianity lies in the way it helps me through the joys and trials of each day.
6. I would say that I “think” my religion.
7. I need other people to help me through the emotional aspects of my life.
8. I tend to express my faith through the emotional aspects of my life.
9. In speaking to non-Christians I would probably emphasize the emotional security
10. I experience with my faith.
11. Religion should not be “intellectual.”
12. For myself, the Bible is best interpreted so that it will be consistent with history and science.
13. In emphasizing the “rational” aspects of faith there is a danger in losing the applicability of that faith.
14. I experience the Holy Spirit working actively in my life.
15. I prefer to witness about the love I experience in Christ.
16. During a church service I may become emotionally overwhelmed by the Spirit of God.
17. The Holy Spirit works primarily through such means as culture and history.
18. I find the Body of Christ to be a place where His Word is emphasized.
19. To evangelize means to work within groups, developing relationships.
20. I prefer to witness to the truth found in Christ.
21. I spend time reflecting on the wonder of God.
22. To evangelize means to witness to individuals.
23. Society will change when institutions are changed.
24. I would say that I “feel” my religion.
25. I tend to be concerned about the political and social implications of the gospel.
26. I prefer to listen to a minister who is a good Biblical scholar.
27. I seek God’s guidance through prayer and meditation.
28. When troubled I prefer to talk to a person who will show me compassion.
29. I prefer a church group which emphasizes personal sharing.
30. I seek God’s guidance through the study of scripture.
31. I rely on the Bible to help me understand what a conversion experience is.
32. I am willing to accept another’s con- version experience as real even if it is quite different from my own.
33. I am an unemotional person.
34. For myself, becoming a believer was the result of much study of Scripture.
35. Christianity may be seen as a logical system of beliefs.
36. The content of a person’s testimony is more important than the feelings surrounding it.
37. I have never actually felt God’s presence.
38. As Christians, we are living in the Church Age; therefore, we should not expect God to intervene by supernatural means.
39. For me, worship services are most meaningful where we do not have to follow a set program.
40. I dislike it when a minister speaks with a lot of emotion and tries to create certain feelings.
41. Midweek services at my church emphasize sharing needs rather than studying Scripture.
42. What a person thinks is more important than how he feels.
43. In church I expect to be taught the Word of God.
44. Worship is when you reflect on God rather than his “filling” you.
45. I may lose control of myself during prayer or worship.
46. Miracles and supernatural events are a regular part of a “spirit-filled” Christian’s life.
47. I am more emotional about my faith than other people.
48. I don’t need other people to help me grow in my faith.
49. I have had an emotional conversion experience.
50. I feel more comfortable doing things in groups than alone.
51. I tend to be more individualistic than other people.
52. I would say that I have an analytic mind.
53. I am not as concerned about the details of the Bible as other people are.
54. I can say for certain that I have felt God’s presence.
55. My beliefs are well organized and thought out.
56. I am more intellectual about my beliefs than other people.
57. I would describe myself as a very rational person.
58. I am a very sociable person.
59. My religion is very important to me and touches all of my life.
60. I would describe myself as a very emotional person.

General Survey. Please answer all of the following briefly. Remember that all information will be kept in strict confidence. Feel free not to answer any questions you object to.

Age____________________________________

Sex ___________________________________ Education ________________

Annual Income _________________________________________ Marital Status ____________________

Occupation ________________________________________________ Denomination _________________________________

Denomination of Parents (if different) ____________________________________________________________________________________ Number of times you attend church each month?_________________________________________________________________ Number of times you study your Bible each week? __________________________________________________________________ Number of people you witness to each month? __________________________________________________________________

Have you ever spoken in tongues?____________________

How often?_______________________________________

Do you consider yourself saved?____________________________________________________________________________________Do you believe you can lose your salvation?_______________________________________________________________ Have you had more than one conversion experience?________________________________________________________ Have you had an experience of being in the presence of God?_________________________________________________ Is your church a place of fellowship for you?____________________________________________________________

Do you worry about whether or not you are saved?_________________________________________________________ Do you now or have you in the past had doubts about your faith?_______________________________________________How often have you moved in the past five years?_________________________________________________________ How often have you changed jobs in the last five years?____________________________________________________ Is there a problem (stress) situation in your home?_______________________________________________________

Check where appropriate: