Scale Overview
The Church-Sect Scale was developed by Russell R. Dynes (1955). It is designed to measure Church-Sect Typology. The scale is intended for use with Adults.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 24 items.
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = Strongly disagree, 2 = Disagree, 3 = ?, 4 = Agree, 5 = Strongly agree.
The scale includes 4 reverse-scored items to reduce acquiescence bias.
Scoring
Items are summed to produce a total score.
Total scores range from 24 to 120. Interpretation guidelines:
- Church-type orientation (Institutionalized, secularized, and intellectualized religious attitudes): 24 – 56
- Mixed orientation: 57 – 88
- Sect-type orientation (Literal, emotional, and fundamentalist religious attitudes): 89 – 120
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of 0.84 (split-half).
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 8 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.