Religious Position Scale – RPS
Measures the multidimensional nature of religiosity, specifically focusing on cognitive salience and extrinsic religious orientation.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Religious Position Scale – RPS was developed by F. L. Jennings (1972). It is designed to measure Religiosity (Cognitive Salience and Extrinsic Orientation). The scale is intended for use with Adults.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 11 items organized into 2 factors/subscales: Cognitive Salience, Extrinsic Religious Orientation.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Cognitive Salience | 1,2,3,4,5 | 5 |
| Extrinsic Religious Orientation | 6,7,8,9,10,11 | 6 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = Strongly agree, 2 = Moderately agree, 3 = Neutral, 4 = Moderately disagree, 5 = Strongly disagree.
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 Cognitive Salience: Spearman-Brown r = 0.74; Extrinsic: Spearman-Brown r = 0.51.
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.