The Liberal-Conservative Scale

Abstract

The Liberal-Conservative Scale (L-C Scale) is a psychological instrument developed by Coursey (1971, 1974) to measure conflicting religious attitudes among members of the Roman Catholic Church, particularly within the American context following the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II, 1962–1965). The scale was created to provide psychologists and clergy with a framework for understanding the divergence between traditional (conservative) Catholics, who feared major structural changes, and liberal Catholics, who embraced the reforms. The resulting 40-item scale assesses the degree of adherence to traditional beliefs versus the advocacy for radical changes in religious practices.

The L-C Scale uses a 4-point Likert-type format where 20 items reflect a liberal stance (L) and 20 reflect a conservative stance (C). The L items are reverse-scored. A summary score is obtained by summing responses, with scores ranging from 40 (representing an extremely liberal attitude) to 200 (representing an extremely conservative attitude). In addition to the main liberal-conservative dimensions, the instrument is broken down into six specific subscales covering key areas of conflict.

Keywords

Liberal-Conservative Scale, L-C Scale, Roman Catholic attitudes, religious psychology, Vatican II, pious submissiveness, ecumenism, church rules, Likert scale, Coursey.

Authors

R. D. Coursey

Purpose

The primary purpose of the L-C Scale is to quantify the spectrum of religious attitudes—specifically liberalism and conservatism—among members of the Catholic faith. It was designed to provide a psychological measure for the profound doctrinal and practical conflicts that emerged within the American Catholic community after the sweeping reforms introduced by the Second Vatican Council.

By placing these conflicting views within a measurable psychological framework, the scale aimed to assist clergy and mental health professionals in better serving a denomination that was experiencing significant internal division. Coursey (1974) emphasized that these religious liberal-conservative attitudes are generally consistent with broader liberal-conservative attitudes held by Catholics concerning other aspects of life.

Construct

The L-C Scale measures a bipolar construct defined by two strong, consistent dimensions: Liberalism (L) and Conservatism (C) in religious attitudes. Liberal attitudes are characterized by the advocacy of radical changes in religious practices and beliefs, often welcoming modern interpretations and reforms. Conservative attitudes, conversely, reflect a strong desire to maintain traditional approaches, dogma, and structure within the Roman Catholic Church.

The overall construct is further delineated into six specific subscales or factors:

• Pious Submissiveness (Subscale 1): Measures loyalty, obedience to authority, and zeal for traditional pious recommendations.
• Ecumenical Attitudes (Subscale 2): Assesses the degree of openness or resistance to cooperation with other religions (labeled by Coursey as the “Catholic ghetto mentality”).
• Marriage Issues (Subscale 3): Focuses on controversial topics such as birth control, divorce, and clerical celibacy.
• Church Rules (Subscale 4): Concerns maintaining or rejecting non-theological regulations, such as appropriate dress for religious leaders and the extent of Church authority involvement in Catholic education.
• Styles of Worship (Subscale 5): Addresses issues involving changes in the Mass implemented post-Vatican II, including the use of vernacular language (e.g., English instead of Latin) during Mass and acceptable types of hymns.
• Social Rights (Subscale 6): Measures the perceived role of the Church in contemporary social and political issues.

Validity

The validity of the L-C Scale was established through face validity assessment and multiple studies confirming construct validity (Coursey, 1974). Initially, 98 potential items were generated and reviewed by 10 expert judges from sociology and theology departments at a Catholic college. To achieve face validity, an 80% agreement rate was required among judges regarding the item’s designated liberal or conservative nature, resulting in a 55-item preliminary scale.

Three subsequent studies provided empirical evidence for construct validity. The first study confirmed that members of a known conservative parish (M = 171.04) scored significantly higher on the L-C Scale than those from a known liberal parish (M = 155.82; t = 5.85, p < .001). The second study examined 286 high school students, finding that students exposed to more liberal Catholic education scored lower (more liberal) than students with conservative exposure. Furthermore, the mean score for 12th graders was significantly lower than the mean score for 9th graders, indicating that longer exposure to liberal education correlated with more liberal attitudes.

The third study utilized 98 matched pairs of individuals (matched on demographic variables) drawn from subscribers of contrasting Catholic journals (liberal vs. conservative). This cross-validation confirmed that the overall summary score and scores on all six subscales were significantly different in the predicted direction (p < .001) for the two groups, further supporting the scale’s ability to differentiate between liberal and conservative religious attitudes.

Reliability

The L-C Scale demonstrated high internal consistency across both normative parishes used during standardization. For the combined sample of 678 individuals, the average inter-item correlation was .19, resulting in a high overall reliability estimate of .93. When analyzed individually, both the conservative and liberal parishes yielded strong reliability estimates of .92.

Factor reliability across time was further assessed one year later using three additional factor analyses. The L-C summary score also showed meaningful correlations with specific demographic variables: it correlated positively with age (.32) and occupational level (.29), and negatively with education (-.40). This suggests that lower educational attainment and older age are associated with more conservative scores on the scale.

Factor Analysis

The factor structure of the L-C Scale revealed two primary dimensions: Liberalism (L) and Conservatism (C), which Coursey identified as relatively consistent and strong dimensions characterizing Catholic attitudes. The initial factor analysis was conducted using the total pool of 678 subjects (N = 678) from the two normative parishes (Parish A, moderately conservative; and Parish B, moderately liberal).

The final 40-item scale is structured around six distinct subscales, derived from the factor analysis, which represent specific areas of conflict or interest within the Church: pious submissiveness, ecumenical attitudes, marriage issues, church rules, styles of worship, and social rights. The reliability of these underlying factors was established by performing separate factor analyses on each parish sample and then correlating the resulting factor loadings.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-administered paper-and-pencil measure; Attitude scale.

Format: 40 forced-choice items utilizing a 4-point Likert-type format (ranging from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree”). Scoring involves assigning 1 (most liberal response) to 5 (most conservative response), with 3 reserved for no response. Liberal items (L) are reverse scored. Total scores range from 40 (extremely liberal) to 200 (extremely conservative).

Language Available: English (developed for the American Catholic population).

Population Group: Members of the Roman Catholic Church.

Age Group: Adult laypersons; also tested on high school students (9th and 12th grade).

Population Details: Designed for the average American Catholic layperson with at least a ninth-grade education, ensuring item comprehensibility. The standardization sample included 678 adult members from two parishes (one moderately conservative, one moderately liberal).

Test Methodology: Self-report, attitudinal assessment.

Keywords

Catholicism, religious attitudes, psychological measurement, social psychology, religious conflict, celibacy, birth control, Vatican II reforms, pious submissiveness.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not available in source material.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not available in source material.

Correspondence Address: Not available in source material.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The scale was initially developed and published by R. D. Coursey in 1971 (dissertation) and further documented in 1974. The key publication is Coursey, R. D. (1974). Consulting and the Catholic crisis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 42, 519-528. This journal article is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association (APA).

Practical caution is advised for modern usage, as the political climate of the Church has changed significantly since the early 1970s. While some issues (e.g., clerical marriage, birth control) remain controversial, others (e.g., vernacular Mass, dress code for religious leaders) may no longer effectively differentiate liberal from conservative viewpoints.

Reference’s

• Coursey, R. D. (1971). The L-C Scale measuring liberal-conservative religious attitudes among Roman Catholics. Dissertation Abstracts International, 32(3-8), 1819.
• Coursey, R. D. (1974). Consulting and the Catholic crisis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 42, 519-528. Copyright © 1974 by the American Psychological Association.
• Subsequent Research: The source notes that no additional studies using the L-C Scale were located in the published literature following its initial development.

Items of the THE LIBERAL-CONSERVATIVE SCALE

Instructions: For each item below, state whether you “strongly disagree,” “disagree,” “agree,” or “strongly agree.”

1. The most important part of a person’s action is gaining merit for heaven. (C)1 [.56]
2. Catholics should try to gain all the indulgences they can. (C)1 [.62]
3. The celebration of Mass in private homes should be edncouraged. (L)5 [.52]
4. Nuns should wear modem dress. (L)4 [.36]
5. Priests should wear a distinctive outfit. (C)4 [.68]
6. Catholics should support birth control clinics set up by the government. (L)3 [.73]
7. Sermons at Mass should deal with current social problems. (L)6 [.45]
8. Catholic children should not be exposed to non-Catholic ways. (C)2 [.51]
9. The church is losing its hold on its members by relaxing the laws of fasting and absti- nence. (C)5 [.58]
10. There are times when Catholics should criticize Church authorities in the press.(L)1 [.49]
11. Parts of the Mass should be in Latin. (C)5 [.55]
12. Catholic magazines that will strongly defend the Church’s views are needed. (C)1 [.57]
13. A priest should run his parish and not get involved in political issues. (C)6 [.47]
14. Disobedience to Church authority leads to chaos and anarchy. (C)1 [.59]
15. Catholic colleges and universities should be free from interference from Church author- ity. (L)4 [.49]
16. Titles such as “your Excellency” and “Monsignor” should be dropped. (L)4 [.42]
17. Confirmation should be postponed until the late teens. (L)1 [.49]
18. Nuns should receive training outside the convent. (L)2 [.58]
19. Many popular hymns lack the majesty that is fitting for Mass. (C)5 [.68]
20. Protestant hymns and prayers should be avoided in Catholic services. (C)5 [.40]
21. Catholic schools should hire Catholic teachers. (C)2 [ .51]
22. Parishes should have guitar Masses. (L)5 [.55]
23. Seminarians should attend class with other college students. (L)2 [.63]
24. Catholics should make the nine First Fridays at least once in their lives. (C)1 [.61]
25. Following one’s conscience is a legitimate excuse for disobeying Church authority. (L)1 [.50]
26. A layman should not criticize the actions of a priest or nun. (C)1 [.52]
27. More theologians from other faiths should teach at Catholic colleges. (L)2 [.72]
28. The Church should never grant a divorce to someone validly married. (C)3 [.50]
29. Sunday Mass should remain obligatory. (C)4 [.48]
30. Catholic organizations should help blacks obtain jobs and earn better incomes. (L)6 [.79]
31. Artificial birth control is morally wrong. (C)3 [.78]
32. Catholics should help disadvantaged groups to secure equal rights. (L)6 [.76]
33. Priests should change from their traditional clerical garb and wear ordinary clothes. (L)4 [.70]
34. A good Catholic should say the Rosary often. (C)1 [.67]
35. Priests should be allowed to marry. (L)3 [.37]
36. Parochial schools should be closed. (L)1 [.38]
37. It is a Catholic’s duty to defend the Church when someone criticizes it. (C)1 [.56]
38. Catholics should be allowed to use birth control pills. (L)3 [.80]
39. Children should be ten years old before going to Confession. (L)1 [.45]
40. Priests and nuns should devote their time and energy only to activities that are sponsored by Catholic groups. (C)2 [.47)

C = Conservative; L = Liberal; superscript indicates subscale that item belongs to; factor loadings are in [ ].