Humanistic Morality and Liberal Belief Scales – HMS/LBS
Measures liberal religious beliefs and humanistic, relativistic morality in contrast to traditional or fundamentalist religious views.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Humanistic Morality and Liberal Belief Scales – HMS/LBS was developed by Eystein Kaldestad (1992). It is designed to measure Liberal religious beliefs and humanistic morality. The scale is intended for use with Adults.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 16 items organized into 2 factors/subscales: Liberal Belief Scale, Humanistic Morality Scale.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Liberal Belief Scale | 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 | 8 |
| Humanistic Morality Scale | 9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16 | 8 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Strongly Disagree to 5 = Strongly Agree).
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from 1 to 5. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low Liberalism / Traditional Morality: 1 – 2
- Moderate Liberalism / Mixed Morality: 2 – 3
- High Liberalism / Humanistic Morality: 3 – 5
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of LBS alpha = .73 – .77; HMS alpha = .72 – .80.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 5 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.