Table of Contents
Variable:
The Dimensions of Religious Commitment Scale is an extensive set of religious measures designed to cover five dimensions of religiosity: belief, ritual, experience, knowledge, and consequences. The latter dimension (consequences) is omitted because it is not strictly a measure of religiosity itself. The remaining four dimensions are covered by a set of 48 different items, many with multiple subsections.
Glock and Stark made an important contribution to the study of religiosity by at tempting to develop a comprehensive way of measuring religiosity. Prior to their work most studies picked up on only one or two dimensions of religiosity. Subsequent to Glock and Stark’s work it appears no longer satisfactory to measure religiosity in this way.
Weigert and Thomas (1969) raised criticisms about the Glock and Stark approach. They pointed to a significant overlap between the belief dimension and knowledge dimension, arguing that both are really part of the ideological domain. Nevertheless, apart from the possibility of an overlap be tween these categories, the independence of the other dimensions is not questioned. However, a more critical analysis of Glock and Stark’s work by Clayton (1971) and Clayton and Gladden (1974) suggested that all of the dimensions, with the possible exception of a consequential scale, might re ally be measuring aspects of religious belief.
In contrast, the extensive research pro gram conducted by King and Hunt (1975) has offered strong corroboration for the multidimensionality claimed by Glock and
Stark. Using an inductive approach via the technique of factor analysis, King and Hunt found six basic scales that were very close to Glock’s belief, experiential, and ritual dimensions. More recently, Hilty (1988) re ported results from an ongoing religious measures project that also support a multidimensional approach.
Description:
Glock and Stark’s dimensions of religious commitment measures are an important element in the evolution of socio logically oriented attempts to measure religion. They represent the growing realization in the 1960s that religion was a complex phenomenon that demanded a multidimensional approach to its measurement. Influenced by earlier work of Gerhard Lenski, Glock and Stark approached the issue of creating religious measures by identifying the important components or dimensions of religion. For each of these dimensions they created a set of survey questions that could be combined into indices. The following dimensions of religiosity produced these in dices:
- Belief Orthodoxy Index (central religious beliefs-? items)
- Particularism Index (beliefs about what leads to salvation-3 items)
- Ethicalism Index (beliefs about relation ships with others-2 items)
- Practice Ritual Involvement Index (involvement in organized public worship–6 items)
- Devotionalism Index (private devotional practices- 3 items)
- Experience Religious Experience Index (extent to which one reports personal con tact with the supematural-5 items)
- Knowledge Religious Knowledge Index (degree of knowledge of biblical con tent-IO items)
Glock and Stark’s dimensions of religious commitment measures can be viewed as a pool of survey items that could be used by researchers studying religion. As Glock and Stark themselves demonstrated, one might not need to use all the possible items that are available. Furthermore, if only certain aspects of religiosity are deemed important to the research, then one or more of the indices could be used independently. Care should be taken not to claim that religion is being measured comprehensively. Others have followed essentially the same basic framework but have created different specific items (Faulkner & Delong, 1966; King & Hunt, 1969). One could compare the Glock and Stark items with alternatives and create a composite set of measures that suits exactly the needs of a particular study.
Practical Considerations:
A major consideration with the use of a multidimensional set of religious measures is whether or not the precision gained in such an approach is necessary for the purposes of the study. Generally, including all of the Glock and Stark measures as part of a larger instrument would necessitate a fair amount of time for the subject to complete all the items. Re searchers would have to allow up to 30 minutes for these items to be completed. In some cases fewer items could be used with an accompanying loss of precision.
The scoring procedure for the items is straightforward. The indices are simply con structed by assigning numbers to the possible answers and summing the totals. Answers deemed as indicating religiosity are assigned higher values and answers indicating a lack of religiosity are not given any value. Thus the higher the total score, the more religious the respondent is on that particular dimension.
In a number of cases Glock and Stark did not use all of the possible items created for a given dimension. In some cases, items were omitted because they were relevant only to a specific religious subgroup. In other cases, Glock and Stark found through index validation analysis that a smaller group of items served as well as a larger set of questions.
Norms/Standardization:
The 1966 publication by Glock and Stark reports the results for two samples. The first was a 1963 study of over 3,000 church members drawn from 118 Protestant and Roman Catholic congregations in four counties in northern California. The second sample was a national study (N = 1,976) that was part of a National Opinion Research Center (NORC) survey of the nation in 1964. The first sample completed self-administered mail surveys and the second sample involved in-person inter views.
A major concern was to discover if the results of the regional study (California) would be similar to the national sample. Glock and Stark reported that the national data confirmed empirically the findings of – the regional study. Since publication of Glock and Stark’s study other researchers have adopted some of the same measures. But there have been no systematically replicated studies of the exact same instrument. Nevertheless, Glock and Stark (1966) provides useful normative data to anyone using these measures.
Reliability:
No reliability data were re ported.
Validity:
Extensive item intercorrelations were conducted to see if the various mea sures were logically connected. Individual items did, in fact, correlate well with the in dices that were created. In some cases Glock and Stark present product moment correlations for these correlations (range: .404 to .766); in other cases, they do cross tabulations between items and indices. Be yond item analysis, Glock and Stark do not offer any external validity checks. They re port data that can be intuitively confirmed such as differences between various denominations on religious orthodoxy, participation, etc. For example, more theologically conservative Protestant groups such as Baptists demonstrate higher levels on the mea sures of religious orthodoxy.
Dimensions of Religious Commitment
- a. I have always been a member
- b. Less than one year
- c. One to two years
- d. Three to five years
- e. Six to ten years
- f. More than ten years
- a. Every week
- b. Nearly every week
- c. About three times a month
- d. About twice a month
- e. About once a month
- f. About every six weeks
- g. About every three months
- h. About once or twice a year
- i. Less than once a year
- j. Never
- a. Yes, in my present denomination
- b. Yes, in another denomination
- c. No
- a. Yes, in my present denomination
- b. Yes, in another denomination
- c. No
- a. A parochial or church-affiliated school
- b. A public school
- c. A private school not affiliated with any church
- d. They do not attend school
- a. They do not attend
- b. They attend regularly
- c. They attend often
- d. They attend sometimes
- a. Extremely important
- b. Quite important
- c. Fairly important
- d. Not too important
- e. Fairly unimportant
- a. To what denomination does (or did) your spouse belong?
- b. In what denomination was your spouse raised?
- c. Would you say you are (or were) more or less interested in religion than your spouse?
- a. More b. Less c. About the same
- d. About how often does (or did) your spouse attend Sunday worship services?
- a. Every week
- b. Nearly every week
- c. About three times a month
- d. About twice a month
- e. About once a month
- f. About every six weeks
- g. About every three months
- h. About once or twice a year
- i. Less than once a year
- j. Never
- a. I really don’t fit in too well with this group of people
- b. I fit in, but not too well
- c. I fit in quite well
- d. I fit in very well
- a. Most are members of my congregation (or parish)
- b. About half are and half aren’t
- c. Most are not members of my congregation
- a. We say grace at all meals
- b. We say grace at least once a day
- c. We say grace at least once a week
- d. We say grace but only on special occasions
- e. We never, or hardly ever, say grace
- a. To be frank, I never read the Bible or I read it so rarely that it probably shouldn’t even count
- b. I read it regularly once a day or more
- c. I read it regularly several times a week
- d. I read it regularly once a week
- e. I read it quite often, but not at regular intervals
- f. I read it once in a while
- g. I read it only on very special occasions
- a. To be frank, I hardly ever think of the Bible and what it has to say as I go about my daily life
- b. While I can’t think of specific examples, nevertheless I feel sure that the Bible is still of help in my daily life
- c. I can think of specific examples when it has helped me in a very direct way in mak ing decisions in life
- d. Other (please specify)
- a. Yes, but not the exact words
- b. Yes, the exact words
- c. I’m not sure that I would remember all ten
- a. Elijah
- b. Deuteronomy
- c. Jeremiah
- d. Paul
- e. Leviticus
- f. Ezekiel
- g. None of these
- a. James
- b. Paul
- c. Judas
- d. Mark
- e. Peter
- f. Jacob
- a. Yes
- b. No
- c. Don’t know
From the Bible? |
a. Yes |
b. No |
Do you agree? |
a. Yes |
b. No |
From the Bible? |
a. Yes |
b. No |
Do you agree? |
a. Yes |
b. No |
- 24. How often do you pray privately?
- a. I never pray, or only do so at church services
- b. I pray only on very special occasions
- c. I pray once in a while, but not at regular intervals
- d. I pray quite often, but not at regular times
- e. I pray regularly once a day or more
- f. I pray regularly several times a week
- g. I pray regularly once a week
- a. As a Christian duty
- b. To find comfort when I am feeling low
- c. To strengthen my faith
- d. To try to learn God’s will
- e. To ask God’s guidance in making decisions
- f. Because it gives me a feeling of being closer to God
- g. To ask forgiveness for something I have done
- h. To ask God to bring someone else to Christian faith and belief
- i. To give thanks to God
- j. To be worshipful of God
- a. To ask for some material thing, for example, a new car or a new house
- b. To ask God to keep some misfortune from happening to me
- c. To ask God to restore my health
- d. To ask God to restore someone else’s health
- e. None of these
- a. Yes, I have no doubt that they are
- b. I feel that they are, but I’m not entirely sure
- c. I don’t really know
- d. I feel that they aren’t, but I’m not entirely sure
- e. I guess I don’t feel that they really are
- f. Other (please specify)
- a. Extremely important
- b. Fairly important
- c. Not too important
- d. Not important at all
- a. I am rather concerned with trying to live as sinless a life as possible
- b. I accept the idea of sin, but do not really think about it very often
- c. The idea of sin means very little to me
- d. None of the above represents my feelings; what I do feel is that
- a. Very often
- b. Quite often
- c. Occasionally
- d. Rarely
- e. Never
- a. I am absolutely certain they are
- b. I am fairly certain
- c. I feel they are forgiven sometimes, but not always
- d. I am never quite sure whether my sins are forgiven or not
- e. I usually feel that my sins are not forgiven
- f. I don’t think of sin in this way
- a. Yes, often
- b. Yes, a few times
- c. Yes, once or twice
- d. No, never
- l. Drinks moderately
- 2. Is very ambitious
- 3. Thinks he is better than others
- 4. Dresses in a flashy way
- 5. Prefers to be with people like himself
- 6. Is very patriotic
- 7. Feels that Christian holidays should not be celebrated in the public schools
- 8. Is very rich
- 9. Is very anxious to be thought of as an intellectual l 0. Is satisfied with his lot in life
- a. Admire him for it
- b. Think it was all right
- c. Be mildly disapproving of him
- d. Be highly disapproving of him
- a. Very comfortable
- b. Comfortable
- c. A little uncomfortable
- d. Uncomfortable
- e. Don’t know enough about this denomination to say
- The denominations are:
- a. Baptist
- b. Jehovah’s Witnesses
- c. Jewish
- d. Lutheran
- e. Presbyterian
- f. Roman Catholic
- g. Unitarian
- h. Mormon
We now tum to another part of religious life-religious belief. We are concerned to learn not only what people believe but also how important their beliefs are to them. We hope you will find that the questions allow you to express your own beliefs. If not, please write a comment next to any question that you would consider to be inappropriate.
- a. I know God exists and I have no doubts about it
- b. While I have doubts, I feel that I do believe in God
- c. I find myself believing in God some of the time, but not at other times
- d. I don’t believe in a personal God, but I do believe in a higher power of some kind
- e. I don’t know whether there is a God and I don’t believe there is any way to find out
- f. I don’t believe in God
- g. None of the above represents what I believe. What I believe about God is
- a. Jesus is the Divine Son of God and I have no doubts about it
- b. While I have some doubts, I feel basically that Jesus is Divine
- c. I feel that Jesus was a great man and very holy, but I don’t feel Him to be the Son of God any more than all of us are children of God
- d. I think Jesus was only a man, although an extraordinary one
- e. Frankly, I’m not entirely sure there really was such a person as Jesus
- f. None of the above represents what I believe. What I believe about Jesus is
- a. I am not sure whether these miracles really happened or not
- b. I believe miracles are stories and never really happened
- c. I believe the miracles happened, but can be explained by natural causes
- d. I believe the miracles actually happened just as the Bible says they did
- a. There is life beyond death
- b. Jesus was born of a virgin
- c. The devil actually exists
- d. Jesus was opposed to all drinking of alcohol
- e. What we do in this life will determine our fate in the hereafter
- f. Jesus walked on water
- g. Man cannot help doing evil
- h. The pope is infallible in matters of faith and morals
- i. Jesus was born a Jew
- j. Only those who believe in Jesus Christ can go to heaven
- k. A child is born into the world already guilty of sin
- a. I think primarily of being granted eternal life beyond death
- b. I think primarily of being released from sin and protected from evil in this life
- c. Other
- 1. Absolutely necessary for salvation
- 2. Probably would help in gaining salvation or
- 3. Probably has no influence on salvation
- a. Belief in Jesus Christ as Savior
- b. Holy Baptism
- c. Membership in a Christian church
- d. Regular participation in Christian sacraments, for example, Holy Communion
- e. Holding the Bible to be God’s truth
- f. Prayer
- g. Doing good for others
- h. Tithing
- i. Being a member of your particular religious faith
- j. Loving thy neighbor
- 37. Now looking at the following items, please indicate for each whether you think it will:
- 1. Definitely prevent salvation
- 2. May possibly prevent salvation or
- 3. Probably has no influence on salvation
- a. Drinking liquor
- b. Breaking the Sabbath
- c. Being completely ignorant of Jesus, as might be the case for people living in other countries
- d. Taking the name of the Lord in vain
- e. Being of the Jewish religion
- f. Practicing artificial birth control
- g. Being of the Hindu religion
- h. Marrying a non-Christian
- i. Discriminating against other races
- j. Being anti-Semitic
- a. Definitely
- b. Probably
- c. Possibly
- d. Probably not
- e. Definitely not
- a. In the next 10 years
- b. In the next 25 years
- c. In the next 50 years
- d. In the next I00 years
- e. 200 to 500 years from now
- f. 1,000 to 10,000 years from now
- g. 50,000 or more years from now
- h. Other
- a. Go to purgatory
- b. Go to hell
- c. Simply stop existing
- d. Go to heaven
- a. Very certain
- b. Fairly certain
- c. Not very certain
- d. Not at all certain
- a. I am quite certain and I pretty much grew up knowing these things
- b. I am quite certain, although at one time I was pretty uncertain
- c. I am uncertain whether or not I have found them
- d. I am quite sure I have not found them
- e. I don’t really believe there are answers to these questions
- a. A feeling that you were somehow in the presence of God
- b. A sense of being saved in Christ
- c. A feeling of being afraid of God
- d. A feeling of being punished by God for something you had done
- e. A feeling of being tempted by the devil
- a. Yes b. No c. I’m not sure
The following questions give attention to still another topic-the history of Christianity. Here we are interested to learn how church people view the events of early Christianity and the Reformation period.
- a. The Romans
- b. The Greeks
- c. The Jews
- d. The Christians
- e. None of these
- a. The Americans
- b. The Roman Catholics
- c. The Jews
- d. The Christians
- e. The Protestants
- f. None
- g. Other
- a. Romans
- b. Greeks
- c. Jews
- d. Christians
- e. None of these
- a. Romans
- b. Greeks
- c. Jews
- d. Christians
- e. None of the above
- a. A Roman
- b. A Greek
- c. A Jew
- d. A Christian
- e. None of these
Location:
Glock, C., & Stark, R. (1966). Christian beliefs and anti-Semitism. New York: Harper & Row.
Note: Most of the religiosity items are found on pages 1- 7 of the questionnaire (items 1-43). Information on index construction is also found in their book.
Subsequent Research:
Clayton, R. R. (1971). 5-D or I? Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 10(1), 37-40.
Clayton, R.R., & Gladden, J. (1974). The five dimensions of religiosity: Toward demythologizing a social artifact. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 13(2), 135-143.
Hilty, D. M. (1988). Religious belief, participation and consequences: An exploratory and confir matory analysis. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 27(2), 243-259.
Roof, W. C. (1979). Concepts and indicators of religious commitment: A critical review. In R. Wuthnow (Ed.), The religious dimension: New di rections in quantitative research (Chap. I). New York: Academic Press.
References
DeJong, G., Faulkner, J., & Warland, R. (1976). Dimensions of religiosity reconsidered: Evidence from a cross-cultural study. Social Forces, 54, 866-889.
Faulkner, J. E., & DeJong, G. F. (1966). Religiosity in 5-D: An empirical analysis. Social Forces 45, 246-254.
Glock, C., & Stark, R. (1966). Christian beliefs and anti-Semitism. New York: Harper & Row.
King, M., & Hunt, R. (1969). Measuring the religious variable: Amended findings. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 8, 321-323.
King, M., & Hunt, R. (1975). Measuring the religious variable: National replication. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 14, 13-22.
Weigert, A., & Thomas, D. (1969). Religiosity in 5-D: A critical note. Social Forces, 48, 260-263.