Religious Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SRQ-R)

This questionnaire concerns the reasons why a person engages in religious behaviors. The questions were written for research with a Christian population‚ but could be easily adapted for other religions. The questionnaire asks why people engage in four religious behaviors‚ each of which is followed by three reasons.
In all‚ there are 12 items on the SRQ-R. The questionnaire was developed and validated by Ryan‚ Rigby‚ and King‚ (1993). There is a long form of the questionnaire with 48 items‚ but analyses revealed that the current 12-item version is as psychometrically sound as the longer version and is far more economical. The scale has only two subscales: Introjected Regulation and Identified Regulation. Work with the longer scale revealed that these two subscales represented the dynamically meaningful reasons why people engage in religious behaviors and that the external regulation and intrinsic motivation subscales did not add to the validity of the scale. Below is the actual scale‚ followed by information about scoring.
The Scale
Religious Behaviors
This questionnaire has four statements‚ each of which is followed by three possible responses. Please read the
first statement‚ and then consider each response. Indicate how true each response is for you‚ using the following scale.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
not at all
true
somewhat
true
very
true
 
A. One reason I think it’s important to actively share my faith with others is:
1. Because God is important to me and I’d like other people to know about Him too.
2. Because I would feel bad about myself if I didn’t.
3. Because I want other Christians to approve of me.
 
B. When I turn to God‚ I most often do it because:
4. I enjoy spending time with Him.
5. I would feel guilty if I didn’t.
6. I find it is satisfying to me.
 
C. A reason I think praying by myself is important is:
7. Because if I don’t‚ God will disapprove of me.
8. Because I enjoy praying.
9. Because I find prayer satisfying.
 
D. An important reason why I attend church is:
10. Because one is supposed to go to church.
11. By going to church I learn new things.
12. Because others would disapprove of me if I didn’t.
 
Validation article
Ryan‚ R. M.‚ Rigby‚ S.‚ & King‚ K. (1993). Two types of religious internalization and their relations to religious orientations and mental health. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology‚ 65‚ 586-596.
The SRQ-R is reviewed and reproduced in

Hill‚P. C.‚ & Hood‚ R. W.‚ Jr. (Eds.) (1999). Measures of religiosity (pp. 124-127). Birmingham‚ AL: Religious Education Press.

x