Certainty in Religious Belief Scale – CRBS
Measures the degree of certainty held regarding religious, philosophical, and factual statements to assess the psychological tendency toward certainty.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Certainty in Religious Belief Scale – CRBS was developed by Robert H. Thouless (1935). It is designed to measure Certainty of Belief. The scale is intended for use with Adults.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 40 items organized into 2 factors/subscales: Religious Beliefs, Non-Religious and Factual Beliefs.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Religious Beliefs | 1,2,3,4,5,7,8,9,10,12,13,14,15,16,18,19,20,21,23,24,26,32 | 22 |
| Non-Religious and Factual Beliefs | 6,11,17,22,25,27,28,29,30,31,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40 | 18 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 3 = I am completely certain that this statement is true., 2 = I am almost certain that this statement is true., 1 = I think that this statement is true, but I am not at all certain., 0 = I am completely uncertain about this statement., -1 = I think this statement is false, but I am not at all certain., -2 = I am almost certain that this statement is false., -3 = I am completely certain that this statement is false..
The scale includes 2 reverse-scored items to reduce acquiescence bias.
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Not reported.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.