What is it about?

Based on studies among developed, western, and predominantly Christian countries, it has been claimed that the four basic dimensions of the religiousness scale (4-BDRS) capture the universality of religiousness. Hinduism is quite different from Semitic religions (has no central religious authority, no clear hierarchy among gods and beliefs, and no basic belief systems- free choice among a large set of beliefs), and India is a developing eastern country. Thus, the study of the factor structure and measurement invariance of the 4-BDRS in a predominantly Hindu population of India (Study I; college students sample; N = 891; age = 21.7 ± 3.42 years; 81.1% Hindus) may be an important cross-cultural validity test. We also tested the external validity of the 4-BDRS in a Christian-community sample (Study II; N = 99, age = 32.09 ± 12.65 years). Results show that the second-order factor structure model of religiousness (in which believing, bonding, behaving, and belonging are the first-order latent factors) was the best fitting model. This factor structure was strongly invariant across gender. Moreover, church-goers had higher religiousness scores than non-goers on the 4-BDRS. Thus, the present study supports the four-dimensional conception of religiousness and its cross-cultural and cross-religious applicability. Specifically, it supports the use of the 4-BDRS as a valid test of religiousness in India.

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Why is it important?

In a different religious-cultural context, this study tests the claim that the four basic dimensions of the religiousness scale (4-BDRS) capture the universality of religiousness.

Perspectives

Attempts to answer how different religions (religious beliefs) may generate similar religiousness.

Dr. Sanjay Kumar
D.A.V. College, Muzaffarnagar (UP) INDIA

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This page is a summary of: Confirmatory factor analysis and gender invariance of the Four Basic Dimensions of Religiousness Scale in India., Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, February 2021, American Psychological Association (APA),
DOI: 10.1037/rel0000305.
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