Measuring the Religious Variable: National Replication.

Is “religion” 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 findi...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion (Wiley-Blackwell) Vol. 14; no. 1; pp. 13 - 23
Autores principales: King, Morton B., Hunt, Richard A.
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Wiley-Blackwell Mar75
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
Descripción
Sumario:Is “religion” 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 analysts, 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?