RELIGIOUS INDEX OF MATURING SURVEY

Abstract

The Religious Index of Maturing Survey (RIMS) is a psychological instrument developed by Marthai (1980) to assess an individual’s level of religious maturity. This assessment focuses on evaluating the individual’s subjective feelings, orientation, and self-concept as they relate to their religious life in general, without requiring adherence to any specific religious commitment or denomination.

The initial development phase involved constructing 79 statement items, informed by Clark’s (1970) criteria for mature religion. After initial administration, a factor analysis was conducted, resulting in the refinement of the instrument down to 19 core scored items. These items primarily load onto a factor centered on the constructs of growth, satisfaction, and positive behavioral change resulting from one’s religion. The final measure utilizes a five-point Likert response format.

Keywords

Religious maturity, RIMS, psychological scale, intrinsic religiosity, self-concept, religious orientation, spiritual growth, psychological assessment.

Authors

R. Marthai

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Religious Index of Maturing Survey (RIMS) is to provide a quantitative measure of religious maturity. It is designed to capture the dynamic process of spiritual development by focusing on an individual’s personal orientation and feelings towards their faith, rather than assessing objective doctrinal adherence.

The scale is intended for straightforward administration, typically taking 15 minutes or less for normal adults to complete. Its concise nature and clear statements allow it to be easily combined with other instruments in broader psychological or sociological research batteries.

Construct

Marthai (1980) began the construction of the RIMS with the premise that religious maturity is intrinsically linked to an individual’s self-concept or ego identity. The construct of religious maturity, as defined by Marthai, encompasses thirteen specific criteria:

• (a) It is phenomenal in nature;
• (b) It is conceptualized as a process, not necessarily a fixed set of objective standards;
• (c) It must be reality-based;
• (d) It is intrinsically motivated;
• (e) It involves a religious identity, whether defined personally or within an organization;
• (f) It includes a religious self-concept, reflecting acceptance of self in light of one’s religion;
• (g) It reflects wholeness;
• (h) It is volitionally based;
• (i) It involves changes in behaviors, attitudes, and/or values;
• (j) It reflects growth towards more complete and whole behaviors;
• (k) It is associated with satisfaction;
• (l) It is somewhat related to physical and cognitive maturity; and
• (m) It is understood as an unending growth process.

Validity

Several measures were administered alongside the RIMS to establish strong construct validity based on Marthai’s theoretical framework, which hypothesized relationships between religious maturity, positive self-concept, low anxiety, and intrinsic religiosity.

The RIMS demonstrated significant positive correlations with the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale (TSCS) (Fitts, 1965), specifically with the TSCS Total-P scores (r = 0.39, p < .01) and the TSCS Moral-Ethical subscale (r = 0.54, p < .01). These results supported the hypothesis that religious maturity is linked to a positive self-concept.

Furthermore, the RIMS showed significant negative correlations with both state anxiety (r = -0.22, p < .01) and trait anxiety (r = 0.21, p < .01), as measured by the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) (Spielberger, Gorsuch, & Lushene, 1970). This supported the idea that religious maturity is associated with psychological wholeness and reduced anxiety.

Finally, correlations with Allport and Ross’s (1967) measure of Intrinsic/Extrinsic religious orientation provided further validation. RIMS scores correlated strongly and positively with intrinsic religiosity (r = 0.79, p < .01) and negatively with extrinsic religiosity (r = -0.31, p < .01). These correlations strongly affirmed Marthai’s conceptual basis that religious maturity aligns with an intrinsic, internalized faith orientation.

Reliability

The RIMS demonstrated acceptable levels of reliability across both temporal stability and internal consistency measurements. For test-retest reliability, 33 students were administered the instrument twice over a 10-day period, yielding a coefficient of 0.81.

The measure also exhibited a high level of internal consistency, with a Cronbach’s inter-item coefficient of 0.93. This high value is consistent with the rigorous selection process used during the factor analysis, which prioritized items that highly loaded onto the primary factor of religious growth and satisfaction.

Factor Analysis

The refinement of the RIMS utilized factor analysis on data collected from an initial sample of 250 Baptist church members in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area. The original pool of 79 items was reduced to the 19 statements that demonstrated the highest loadings on the primary factor extracted from the data.

This dominant primary factor was conceptually described as being centered around the constructs of growth, satisfaction, and positive behavioral change that occur in and through one’s religious experience. This statistical process ensured that the final 19 scored items were cohesive and strongly represented the core theoretical construct of religious maturity as defined by Marthai.

Instrument

Test Type:

Self-Perception Survey (Self-report)

Format:

The instrument consists of 25 statement items, 19 of which are scored. The response uses a five-point Likert format, ranging from “A = completely true” (scored as 5) to “E = completely false” (scored as 1). Five items are negatively worded, requiring reverse scoring. Six additional negatively worded statements are included as non-scored fillers to minimize response set bias.

Language Available:

English (based on original source materials).

Population Group:

Adolescents (Grades 8-12) and Adults.

Age Group:

Standardization sample mean age was 15.5 years.

Population Details:

The standardization sample included 216 adolescents drawn from three conservative Christian schools in the Southern United States. The sample was overwhelmingly white, with 45% male respondents. Denominational preferences were varied (48% Baptist, 12% Presbyterian, 8% Methodist, etc.), and the students were generally described as middle class.

Test Methodology:

The RIMS is a straightforward, quick assessment, typically completed in under 15 minutes. Scoring involves summing the Likert ratings (5-1 scale) for the 19 scored items, with values reversed for the five negatively keyed statements to yield a total score reflecting religious maturity.

Keywords

RIMS, religious assessment, adolescent psychology, self-report, psychological growth, religious identity, intrinsic motivation, psychometrics.

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:

1980 (Original Dissertation).

Permissions/Fee:

Not provided in source. Permission likely required from the author or institution for commercial use, as the instrument originated as a doctoral dissertation.

Reference’s

The following references were utilized in the development and validation of the RIMS:

• Allport, G., & Ross, J. (1967). Personal religious orientation and prejudice. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 5, 432-443.
• Clark, W. (1970). The psychology of religion. New York: Macmillan.
• Fitts, W. (1965). Manual for Tennessee Self Concept Scale. Los Angeles: Western Psychological Services.
• Marthai, R. (1980). Construction and validation of a measure of phenomenal process and religious maturity. (Doctoral dissertation, Southern Mississippi University, Hattiesburg, MS, 1980). Dissertation Abstracts International, 41-058, 1893.
• Spielberger, C. D., Gorsuch, R. L., & Lushene, R. E. (1970). STAI manual for the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychological Press.

Items of the RELIGIOUS INDEX OF MATURING SURVEY

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

RIMS: A Self-Perception Scale

This is a survey that will be used to find out how people think about their religion. Please answer the following statements by circling the choice which best describe you.

• A = completely true
• B = partly true
• C = partly true and partly false
• D = partly false
• E = completely false

Please respond with your first impression about yourself and do not deliberate on any one question. Please answer for how you personally agree or disagree with the statement and not how other people might expect you to answer. Religion in this survey means all of your personal beliefs about God and spiritual things. There are no right or wrong answers. They are only right if they reflect your personal beliefs.

1. My religion is the primary factor in my life.
2. My religion is not fresh each day.
3. My religious beliefs play a vital role when I make everyday choices.
4. My religion does not fully satisfy me.
5. My religion gives me a wholeness to living.
6. I feel an urge to know more about my religion’s deeper truth.
7. I am unconcerned that others find the same things I have found in my religion.
8. I rarely or never think of myself being part of the universe.
9. My religion is growing daily within me.
10. Many things have changed in my life since I have followed my religion.
11. Almost no one knows what I really believe about my religion.
12. I often become confused about what to believe about my religion.
13. I have a better understanding of myself than I have about my religion.
14. I see myself as part of a master plan.
15. In persecution for my religion, I am uncertain I would hold up.
16. Because of my religion, I continually experience a new joy.
17. I have no doubts about religious miracles.
18. God interacts with me.
19. I have a lot of hope in my religion.
20. My religion has helped me be more open in my relationships with other people.
21. My views of my religion have not changed since I have followed them.
22. I read the Scriptures rarely.
23. The criterion I use to decide whether or not to do something is to ask if it would be pleasing to God.
24. God actively directs my life.
25. My religion does not really give me a sense of reality.