Religiousness Measure

Abstract

The Religiousness Measure is a 17-item scale developed by Sethi and Seligman in 1993 to quantify various aspects of an individual’s faith for the purpose of correlating religiosity with psychological variables such as optimism and attributional style. The measure is structured around three primary subscales: Religious Hope, Religious Involvement, and Religious Influence in daily life. Most items employ a 7-point Likert scale format, though involvement items rely on a frequency scale, and two items are dichotomous (yes/no) questions that are typically excluded from the final quantified score of religiousness.

Keywords

Religiosity, Religious Influence, Religious Hope, Religious Involvement, Fundamentalism, Optimism, Attributional Style, Sethi and Seligman, Psychological Scale.

Authors

Sethi, S., Seligman, M. E. P.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Religiousness Measure was to establish a quantitative instrument capable of assessing different dimensions of religious commitment and belief. This was specifically intended to facilitate research into the correlation between the degree of religiosity and dispositional psychological traits, particularly optimism and attributional style, within diverse religious populations.

The scale was designed to capture the complexity of religious life by dividing it into three measurable components, allowing researchers to explore how specific facets of faith—rather than just overall affiliation—interact with mental well-being and cognitive habits. The scale was foundational to studies seeking to understand the psychological profiles of individuals belonging to fundamentalist, moderate, and liberal religious groups.

Construct

The scale operationalizes religiosity as a three-factor construct, encompassing cognitive, behavioral, and influential aspects of faith:

• Religious Hope: This subscale, assessed by six items using a 7-point Likert scale, measures beliefs related to transcendent rewards and positive future outcomes rooted in faith (e.g., belief in heaven, belief that suffering will be rewarded, and general future optimism).

• Religious Involvement: This subscale uses three frequency-based questions (scored on a 6-point scale) to quantify overt religious behaviors, such as the frequency of prayer, reading holy scriptures, and attending religious services and activities.

• Religious Influence: Comprising six items also evaluated on a 7-point Likert scale, this dimension measures the pervasive impact of religious beliefs on practical, daily life decisions, including choices regarding dress, diet, social associations, and major life decisions.

Validity

Evidence for the validity of the measure was primarily derived from its ability to differentiate between predetermined religious groups (fundamentalist, moderate, and liberal). The authors found statistically significant differences across these three classifications on all three subscales (religious hope, involvement, and influence), supporting the theoretical basis of the group divisions and suggesting adequate construct validity.

Furthermore, the three religious dimensions demonstrated initial criterion validity through positive correlations with optimism, as assessed by the Attributional Style Questionnaire (ASQ). Although the correlations were modest (ranging from r = .08 for involvement to r = .21 for hope), they achieved statistical significance due to the substantial sample size (N = 623). The authors noted that no attempts were made to validate the measure against pre-existing, established religious scales.

Reliability

The developers of the scale noted explicitly that no formal attempt was made to establish the reliability of the Religiousness Measure in the initial publication. Consequently, measures such as internal consistency (e.g., Cronbach’s alpha) or test-retest reliability coefficients for the overall scale or its three subscales are not reported in the foundational literature.

Factor Analysis

The source materials do not contain a report of a formal factor analysis (e.g., Exploratory or Confirmatory Factor Analysis) used to empirically derive or confirm the three proposed factors (Hope, Involvement, Influence). The measure’s structure is based on the conceptual framework outlined by Sethi and Seligman (1993).

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report psychological scale.

Format: 17 items utilizing a mixed response format: 7-point Likert scale (for Hope and Influence), a frequency scale (for Involvement), and dichotomous Yes/No questions.

Language Available: English (US).

Population Group: Adults belonging to various religious groups in the United States.

Age Group: 18 to 65 years.

Population Details: The standardization sample (N = 623) was drawn from urban areas (New York, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, and Washington, D. C.). Subjects were categorized into three broad religious classifications: Fundamentalists (N = 208, including Orthodox Jews, Muslims, Calvinists), Moderates (N = 274, including Conservative Judaism, Catholicism, Lutheranism, Methodism), and Liberals (N = 141, including Reformed Jews and Unitarians). No significant effects of gender, age, education, or income were found across these classifications.

Test Methodology: Scoring involves calculating the mean score for the Religious Hope and Religious Influence subscales. Religious Involvement questions are scored on a scale of 1 to 6, with higher scores indicating greater involvement, and a mean involvement score is then calculated. The two yes/no questions (belief in God and interfaith marriage) are excluded from the quantification of religiousness.

Keywords

Religious Beliefs, Likert Scale, Religious Practice, Psychological Science, Construct Validity, Quantitative Measure, Religious Classification, Religiosity.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not Reported

Affiliation Email addresses: Not Reported

Correspondence Address: Not Reported

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Test Year: 1993

Permissions & Fee: Not Reported; use requires citation of the original source.

Reference’s

• Sethi, S., & Seligman, M. E. P. (1993). Optimism and fundamentalism. Psychological Science, 4, 25fr.259.

• Seith, S., & Seligman, M. E. P. (1994). The hope of fundamentalists. Psychological Science, 5, 58.

• Schulman, P., Castellon, C., & Seligman, M. (1989). Assessing explanatory style: The content analysis of verbatim explanations and the Attributional Style Questionnaire. Behavior Research and Therapy, 27, 505-512.

Items of the RELIGIOUSNESS MEASURE

1. Do you believe in God?

   yes no

2. How important would you say religion is in your life?

   not at all important

3. How often do you read holy scriptures?

   1. more than once a day

   2. once a day

   3. more than once a week

4. How often do you pray?

   1. more than once a day

   2. once a day

   3. more than once a week

   4. once a week

   5. more than once a month

   6. less than once a month

5. How often do you attend religious services and activities?

   1. more than once a day d. once a week

   2. once a day e. more than once a month

   3. more than once a week f. less than once a month

6. How much influence do your religious beliefs have on the important decisions of your life?

   none of my decisions

   some of my decisions

   all of my decisions

7. Would you marry someone of another religion? yes no

8. How much influence do your religious beliefs have on what you wear?

   not at all influential

   somewhat influential

   extremely influential

9. How much influence do your religious beliefs have on what you eat and drink?

   not at all influential

   somewhat influential

   extremely influential

10. How much influence do your religious beliefs have on whom you associate with?

    not at all influential

    somewhat influential

    extremely influential

11. How much influence do your religious beliefs have on what social activities you under­ take?

    not at all influential

    somewhat influential

    extremely influential

12. Do you believe that there is a heaven?

    strongly disagree

    somewhat agree

    strongly agree

13. Do you believe it is possible for all humans to live in harmony together?

    strongly disagree

    somewhat agree

    strongly agree

14. Do you believe there are miracles?

    strongly disagree

    somewhat agree

    strongly agree

15. Do you believe your suffering will be rewarded?

    strongly disagree

    somewhat agree

    strongly agree

16. Do you believe that in the future your children will be able to lead a better life than yourself?

    strongly disagree

    somewhat agree

    strongly agree

17. Do you believe the future will be a better place to live?

• strongly disagree

• somewhat agree

• strongly agree