RELIGIOUS VARIABLES: TEN SCALES

Abstract

The RELIGIOUS VARIABLES SCALES, developed by King and Hunt (1972) based on prior research (King, 1967; King & Hunt, 1969), constitute a comprehensive, multidimensional instrument designed to measure various facets of religious commitment and involvement. Recognizing the complexity of religiosity, the authors initially synthesized 11 hypothetical dimensions derived from foundational models proposed by scholars such as Allport and Ross (1967), Glock (1962), and Lenski (1961).

Following extensive statistical analysis, including data gathered in 1965 and 1968, the researchers refined their measure, resulting in a robust set of 10 distinct, internally consistent scales comprising 59 items. These scales are grouped under six conceptual headings: Creedal Assent, Devotionalism, Congregational Involvement (which includes three subscales), Religious Knowledge, Orientation to Religion (two subscales), and Salience (two subscales). The instrument is designed for researchers seeking a high level of precision and complexity in quantifying religious dimensions.

Keywords

Religiosity, Religious Measurement, Psychological Scales, Creedal Assent, Devotionalism, Congregational Involvement, Religious Knowledge, Extrinsic Orientation, Intrinsic Orientation, Salience of Religion, Multidimensionality

Authors

Morton B. King, Richard A. Hunt

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Religious Variables Scales is to provide a refined, comprehensive, and statistically validated instrument for measuring the diverse dimensions of religiosity. The authors intended to move beyond simple single-factor measures by offering 10 distinct scales that reflect the emerging consensus in the sociology and psychology of religion regarding the multidimensionality of religious experience.

The scales allow researchers to assess specific areas of religious life, ranging from doctrinal belief and personal devotion to institutional participation and the functional importance of religion in daily life. This level of detail ensures that researchers can measure the religious dimension with a high degree of precision and complexity, thereby facilitating nuanced analyses of religious behavior and attitudes.

Construct

The scale measures 10 distinct dimensions of religious life, clustered under six main conceptual headings. These dimensions build upon and refine earlier constructs proposed by Glock and Lenski, offering a structured approach to understanding religious commitment. The final 10 scales demonstrate both homogeneity and internal consistency.

The ten dimensions are:

• Creedal Assent: Measures agreement with core Christian beliefs, similar to Glock’s ideological dimension and Lenski’s doctrinal orthodoxy. (7 items)
• Devotionalism: Focuses on personal religious practice, such as private prayer and feelings of closeness to God, related to Lenski’s devotionalism. (5 items)
• Congregational Involvement (3 subscales): Relates to institutional participation (Glock’s ritualistic and Lenski’s associational dimensions).
  • Church Attendance (3 items)
  • Organizational Activity (6 items)
  • Financial Support (5 items)
• Religious Knowledge: Assesses understanding of biblical facts, church history, and denominational polity, similar to Glock’s intellectual dimension. (8 items)
• Orientation to Religion (2 subscales): Measures how religion functions in the individual’s daily life.
  • Growth and Striving: Measures the extent of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with one’s current religious state, indicating a desire for spiritual growth. (6 items)
  • Extrinsic: Derived from Allport and Feagin’s work, this assumes an instrumental or selfish orientation toward religion (e.g., using religion for social status or comfort). (7 items)
• Salience (2 subscales): Measures the relevance and importance of religion.
  • Behavior: Measures overt religious activities outside formal church structure, such as witnessing or reading the Bible. (7 items)
  • Cognition: Measures the importance of religious beliefs for one’s thoughts, feelings, and overall life approach, somewhat related to the intrinsic dimension. (5 items)

Validity

King and Hunt asserted that the validity of the Religious Variables Scales should be primarily judged based on their utility and explanatory power within research contexts. The instrument includes comprehensive data on intercorrelations among the 10 religiosity scales, allowing researchers to understand the relationships between the dimensions.

Further evidence of validity was demonstrated through intercorrelations between the religious dimensions and five other cognitive style scales. A notable finding was a low but statistically significant positive correlation between racial tolerance (less prejudice) and several religious dimensions, specifically: church attendance, organizational activities, religious knowledge, growth and striving, and salience. This finding aligns with established research on religious orientation and prejudice, particularly the work of Allport and Ross (1967).

Reliability

The authors focused on internal consistency as the primary measure of reliability, utilizing Cronbach’s alpha coefficients. Test-retest reliabilities were not reported in the principal publication. The selection of the final 59 scale items was based on two strict criteria: (a) achieving a coefficient of homogeneity (Cronbach’s alpha) of at least .75, and (b) demonstrating analytical power when correlated with other relevant variables.

The calculated alpha coefficients across the ten scales ranged from .734 (for Financial Support and Extrinsic dimensions) to .852 (for Devotionalism). Furthermore, King and Hunt provided detailed item-to-scale correlations for all 59 items, which generally fell within the acceptable range of .39 to .70, indicating that individual items correlate strongly with their intended dimension.

Factor Analysis

The development of the Religious Variables Scales involved a rigorous statistical process to confirm the underlying dimensional structure of religiosity. Initial formulations hypothesized 11 dimensions. Through computer-assisted statistical analysis of data collected in earlier studies (1965 and 1968), King and Hunt confirmed the statistical independence of eight of their original hypothetical scales. The analysis also led to the discovery and inclusion of two or three new dimensions, ultimately yielding the final, empirically supported structure of 10 distinct scales. This process ensured that the final measure reflected true internal consistency and was not merely an arbitrary aggregation of items.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report questionnaire; Multidimensional psychological scale

Format: The final instrument consists of 59 items. Most items utilize a 4-point Likert scale response format (e.g., “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree”). Items assessing frequency of activities use alternatives like “regularly,” “fairly regularly,” “occasionally,” and “seldom or never.” Religious Knowledge items are unique, offering six possible answers.

Language Available: English (Original)

Population Group: Originally developed and standardized primarily on white, mainline Protestant denominations.

Age Group: Individuals 16 years old and older.

Population Details: Initial standardization utilized a systematic sample (N=1,356) from four Protestant denominations (Disciples, Missouri-Synod Lutheran, Presbyterian, and United Methodists) in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. A later national replication (N=872) used a geographically diverse sample of United Presbyterians. The authors caution against uncritical use with Roman Catholics or Protestant Pentecostals due to the sample bias, though they suggest potential application with modification for Jewish or Muslim subjects.

Test Methodology: The scales are additive and unweighted, simplifying scoring and analysis. Test administration time is approximately 30 minutes.

Keywords

Religious Attitudes, Scale Development, Church Attendance, Internal Consistency, King and Hunt, Psychological Assessment, Protestantism, Religious Beliefs, Doctrinal Orthodoxy, Likert Scale

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source material.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided in source material.

Correspondence Address: Not provided in source material.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Test Year: 1972 (Replication and final scale presentation)

Permissions/Fee: Information on current permissions and fees must be sought from the journal publisher or the authors’ estates. The scale was published in the academic domain via the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion.

Reference’s

• Allport, G. W., & Ross, J.M. (1967). Personal religious orientation and prejudice. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 5, 432-433.

• De Jong, G., Faulkner, J., & Warland, R. (1976). Dimensions of religiosity reconsidered: Evidence from a cross-cultural study. Social Forces, 54, 866-889.

• Feagin, J. R. (1964). Prejudice and religious types: A focus study of southern fundamentalists. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 4, 3-13.

• Glock, C. Y. (1962). On the study of religious commitment: Review of recent research bearing on religious and character formation. A research supplement lo Religious Education, July-August, S98-S110.

• Glock, C. Y., & Stark, R. (1966). Christian beliefs and anti-Semitism. New York: Harper & Row.

• Hilty, D. M., Morgan, R. L., & Burns, J. E. (1984). King and Hunt revisited: Dimensions of religious involvement. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 23, 252-266.

• Hilty, D. M., & Morgan, R. L. (1985). Construct validation for the religious involvement inventory: Replication. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 24, 75-86.

• King, M. (1967). Measuring the religious variable. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 6, 173-190.

• King, M., & Hunt, R. (1969). Measuring the religious variable: Amended findings. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 8, 321-323.

• King, M. B., & Hunt, R. A. (1972). Measuring the religious variable: Replication. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 11, 240-251.

• King, M., & Hunt, R. (1975). Measuring the religious variable: National replication. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 14, 13-22.

• Lenski, G. (1961). The religious factor. New York: Doubleday, 1961.

Items of the RELIGIOUS VARIABLES: TEN SCALES

The various scales are simple, additive, and unweighted. Generally, each item has four possible answers (e.g., strongly agree= 4, agree= 3, disagree= 2, and strongly disagree = 1), which are added together to produce a combined score. Some items are used on more than one scale.

1. Creedal Assent (.834)
   1. (.70) I believe that the word of God is revealed in the Scriptures.
   2. (.65) I believe in God as a Heavenly Father who watches over me and to whom I am accountable.
   3. (.58) I believe that God revealed Himself to man in Jesus Christ.
   4. (.58) I believe that Christ is a living entity.
   5. (.58) I believe in eternal life.
   6. (.54) I believe in salvation as release from sin and freedom for new life with God.
   7. (.53) I believe honestly and wholeheartedly in the doctrines and teaching of the church.
2. Devotionalism (.852)

   (.74) How often do you pray privately in places other than at church?

   1. (.73) How often do you ask God to forgive your sin?
   2. (.65) Private prayer is one of the most important and satisfying aspects of my religious experience.
   3. (.63) When you have decisions to make in your everyday life, how often do you try to find out what God wants you to do?
   4. (.59) I frequently feel very close to God in prayer, during public worship, or at important moments in my daily life.
3. 1. Congregational Involvement
   2. Church Attendance (.821)

      (.71) How often have you taken Holy Communion (the Lord’s Supper, the Eucharist) during the past year?

      1. (.69) During the last year, how many Sundays per month on the average have you gone to a worship service: (None-Three or more).
      2. (.64) If not prevented by unavoidable circumstances, I attend Church: (more than once a week-less than once a month).
   3. Organizational Activity (.831)
      1. (.69) How would you rate your activity in this congregation (very active-inactive)?
      2. (.63) How often do you spend evenings at church meetings or in church work?
      3. (.59) I enjoy working in the activities of the church.
      4. (.59) Church activities (meetings, committee work, etc.) are a major source of satisfaction in my life.
      5. (.57) I keep pretty well informed about my congregation and have some influence on its decisions.
      6. (.55) List the church offices, committees, or jobs of any kind in which you have served during the past 12 months.
   4. Financial Support (.734)

      (.56) Last year, approximately what percentage of your income was contributed to the church? (Answer in terms of your individual income or that of your family, whichever is appropriate.) (1 % or less-10% or more).

      1. (.53) I make financial contributions to church: (in regular, planned amounts-seldom or never).
      2. (.51) During the last year, what was the average monthly contribution of your family to your local congregation? (Under $5-$50 and up)
      3. (.48) In proportion to your income, do you consider that your contributions to the Church are: (generous-small)?
      4. (.40) During the last year, how often have you made contributions to the church in addition to the general budget and Sunday school? (regularly-never)
4. Religious Knowledge (.769)
   1. (.56) Which of the following were Old Testament prophets? (Deuteronomy, Ecclesiastes, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Leviticus)
   2. (.54) Which of the following books are included in the four Gospels? (James, John, Mark, Matthew, Peter, Thomas)
   3. (.53) Which of the following were among the twelve disciples of Christ? (Daniel, John, Judas, Paul, Peter, Samuel)
   4. (.50) Which of the following acts were performed by Jesus Christ during his earthly ministry? (resisting the temptations of Satan; healing ten lepers; leading his people against the priests of Baal; parting the waters of the Red Sea; overcoming Goliath; turning water into wine)
   5. (.48) Which of the following men were leaders of the Protestant Reformation? (Aquinas; Augustine; Calvin; Cranmer; Hegel; Luther)
   6. (.44) Which of the following principles are supported by most Protestant denominations? (Bible as the word of God; separation of church and state; power of clergy to forgive sins; final authority of the church; justification by faith; justification by good works)
   7. (.43) Which of the following books are in the Old Testament? (Acts; Amos; Galatians; Hebrews; Hosea; Psalms)
   8. (.41) Which of the following denominations in the United States have bishops? (Disciples; Episcopal; Lutheran; Methodist; Presbyterian; Roman Catholic)

5. Orientation to Religion

   1. Growth and Striving (.806)

      1. (.61) How often do you read literature about your faith (or church)? (Frequently- Never)

      2. (.60) How often do you read the Bible?

      3. (.59) I try hard to grow in understanding of what it means to live as a child of God.

      4. (.57) When you have decisions to make in your everyday life, how often do you try to find out what God wants you to do?

      5. (.54) The amount of time I spend trying to grow in understanding of my faith is: (Very much-Little or none)

      6. (.52) I try hard to carry my religion over into all my other dealings in life.

   2. Extrinsic (.734)

      1. (.52) It is part of one’s patriotic duty to worship in the church of his choice.

      2. (.49) The church is the most important place to form good social relationships.

      3. (.46) The purpose of prayer is to secure a happy and peaceful life.

      4. (.45) Church membership has helped me to meet the right kind of people.

      5. (.42) What religion offers me most is comfort when sorrows and misfortune strike.

      6. (.39) One reason for my being a church member is that such membership helps to establish a person in the community.

      7. (.39) Religion helps to keep my life balanced and steady in exactly the same way as my citizenship, friendships, and other memberships do.

6. Salience

   1. Behavior (.825)

      1. (.68) How often in the last year have you shared with another church member the problems and joys of trying to live a life of faith in God?

      2. (.60) How often have you personally tried to convert someone to faith in God?

      3. (.59) How often do you talk about religion with your friends, neighbors, or fellow workers?

      4. (.57) When faced by decisions regarding social problems, how often do you seek guidance from statements and publications provided by the Church?

      5. (.54) How often do you read the Bible?

      6. (.53) How often do you talk with the pastor (or some other official) about some part of the worship service: for example, the sermon, scripture, choice of hymns, etc.?

      7. (.49) During the last year, how often have you visited someone in need, besides your own relatives?

   2. Cognition (.808)

      1. (.64) My religious beliefs are what really lie behind my whole approach to life.

      2. (.64) I try hard to grow in understanding of what it means to live as a child of God.

      3. (.59) Religion is especially important to me because it answers many questions about the meaning of life.

      4. (.56) I try hard to carry my religion over into all my other dealings in life.

      5. (.54) I frequently feel very close to God in prayer, during public worship, or at important moments in my daily life.