Measuring the Religious Variable: National Replication

Is multi-dimensional and, if so, what dimensions are of use in the scientific study of religion? Previous studies by the authors defined religion in terms of involvement in congregational life, developed several potentially useful dimensions, and suggested scales to measure them. The findings occurred with members of four Protestant groups within one urban area but left unanswered the question: Are the similarities found those of mainline Protestantism or of the local sub-culture? Selected items from those studies were used, with others, on a nation-wide sample of another denomination. Using the same techniques of factor and item-scale analysis, the national data produced the same dimensions and almost identical scales. Therefore, these dimensions seem to be potentially useful in studies of most Protestants in the U.S. and perhaps Canada. Other questions, however, remain to be answered: Are all the findings artifacts of the particular techniques of observation and analysis? Are these different ways of being religious or reflections of different underlying psycho-logic characteristics of persons?