Protocol - Religious Behaviors and Congregational Support

Daily Spiritual Experiences

The following questions deal with possible spiritual experiences. To what extent can you say you experience the following:

1. I feel the presence of a higher power.
   [ ] 1 Many times a day
   [ ] 2 Every day
   [ ] 3 Most days
   [ ] 4 Some days
   [ ] 5 Once in a while
   [ ] 6 Never or almost never

2. I find strength and comfort in my religion.
   [ ] 1 Many times a day
   [ ] 2 Every day
   [ ] 3 Most days
   [ ] 4 Some days
   [ ] 5 Once in a while
   [ ] 6 Never or almost never

3. I feel deep inner peace or harmony.
   [ ] 1 Many times a day
   [ ] 2 Every day
   [ ] 3 Most days
   [ ] 4 Some days
   [ ] 5 Once in a while
   [ ] 6 Never or almost never

4. I desire to be closer to or in union with a higher power.
   [ ] 1 Many times a day
   [ ] 2 Every day
   [ ] 3 Most days
   [ ] 4 Some days
   [ ] 5 Once in a while
   [ ] 6 Never or almost never

5. I feel the love of a higher power for me, directly or through others.
   [ ] 1 Many times a day
   [ ] 2 Every day
   [ ] 3 Most days
   [ ] 4 Some days
   [ ] 5 Once in a while
   [ ] 6 Never or almost never

6. I am spiritually touched by the beauty of creation.
   [ ] 1 Many times a day
   [ ] 2 Every day
   [ ] 3 Most days
   [ ] 4 Some days
   [ ] 5 Once in a while
   [ ] 6 Never or almost never

Values/Beliefs

7. I believe in a higher power who watches over me.
   [ ] 1 Strongly agree
   [ ] 2 Agree
   [ ] 3 Disagree
   [ ] 4 Strongly disagree

8. I feel a deep sense of responsibility for reducing pain and suffering in the world.
   [ ] 1 Strongly agree
   [ ] 2 Agree
   [ ] 3 Disagree
   [ ] 4 Strongly disagree

Forgiveness

Because of my religious or spiritual beliefs:

9. I have forgiven myself for things that I have done wrong.
   [ ] 1 Always or almost always
   [ ] 2 Often
   [ ] 3 Seldom
   [ ] 4 Never

10. I have forgiven those who hurt me.
   [ ] 1 Always or almost always
   [ ] 2 Often
   [ ] 3 Seldom
   [ ] 4 Never

11. I know that I am forgiven by a higher power.
   [ ] 1 Always or almost always
   [ ] 2 Often
   [ ] 3 Seldom
   [ ] 4 Never

Private Religious Practices

12. How often do you pray privately in places other than a place of worship or faith institution?
   [ ] 1 More than once a day
   [ ] 2 Once a day
   [ ] 3 A few times a week
   [ ] 4 Once a week
   [ ] 5 A few times a month
   [ ] 6 Once a month
   [ ] 7 Less than once a month
   [ ] 8 Never

13. Within your religious or spiritual tradition, how often do you meditate?
   [ ] 1 More than once a day
   [ ] 2 Once a day
   [ ] 3 A few times a week
   [ ] 4 Once a week
   [ ] 5 A few times a month
   [ ] 6 Once a month
   [ ] 7 Less than once a month
   [ ] 8 Never

14. How often do you watch or listen to religious programs on TV or radio?
   [ ] 1 More than once a day
   [ ] 2 Once a day
   [ ] 3 A few times a week
   [ ] 4 Once a week
   [ ] 5 A few times a month
   [ ] 6 Once a month
   [ ] 7 Less than once a month
   [ ] 8 Never

15. How often do you read the Bible or other religious literature?
   [ ] 1 More than once a day
   [ ] 2 Once a day
   [ ] 3 A few times a week
   [ ] 4 Once a week
   [ ] 5 A few times a month
   [ ] 6 Once a month
   [ ] 7 Less than once a month
   [ ] 8 Never

16. How often are prayers or grace said before or after meals in your home?
   [ ] 1 At all meals
   [ ] 2 Once a day
   [ ] 3 At least once a week
   [ ] 4 Only on special occasions
   [ ] 5 Never

Religious and Spiritual Coping

Think about how you try to understand and deal with major problems in your life. To what extent is each of the following involved in the way you cope?

17. I think about how my life is part of a larger spiritual force.
   [ ] 1 A great deal
   [ ] 2 Quite a bit
   [ ] 3 Somewhat
   [ ] 4 Not at all

18. I work together with a higher power as partners.
   [ ] 1 A great deal
   [ ] 2 Quite a bit
   [ ] 3 Somewhat
   [ ] 4 Not at all

19. I look to a higher power for strength, support, and guidance.
   [ ] 1 A great deal
   [ ] 2 Quite a bit
   [ ] 3 Somewhat
   [ ] 4 Not at all

20. I feel I am being punished by a higher power for my sins or lack of spirituality.
   [ ] 1 A great deal
   [ ] 2 Quite a bit
   [ ] 3 Somewhat
   [ ] 4 Not at all

21. I wonder whether I have been abandoned by a higher power.
   [ ] 1 A great deal
   [ ] 2 Quite a bit
   [ ] 3 Somewhat
   [ ] 4 Not at all

22. I try to make sense of the situation and decide what to do without relying on a higher power.
   [ ] 1 A great deal
   [ ] 2 Quite a bit
   [ ] 3 Somewhat
   [ ] 4 Not at all

23. To what extent is your religion involved in understanding or dealing with stressful situations in any way?
   [ ] 1 A great deal
   [ ] 2 Quite a bit
   [ ] 3 Somewhat
   [ ] 4 Not at all

Religious Support

These questions are designed to find out how much help the people in your congregation would provide if you need it in the future.

24. If you were ill, how much would the people in your congregation help you out?
   [ ] 1 A great deal
   [ ] 2 Some
   [ ] 3 A little
   [ ] 4 None

25. If you had a problem or were faced with a difficult situation, how much comfort would the people in your congregation be willing to give you?
   [ ] 1 A great deal
   [ ] 2 Some
   [ ] 3 A little
   [ ] 4 None

Sometimes the contact we have with others is not always pleasant.

26. How often do the people in your congregation make too many demands on you?
   [ ] 1 Very often
   [ ] 2 Fairly often
   [ ] 3 Once in a while
   [ ] 4 Never

27. How often are the people in your congregation critical of you and the things you do?
   [ ] 1 Very often
   [ ] 2 Fairly often
   [ ] 3 Once in a while
   [ ] 4 Never

Organizational Religiousness

28. How often do you go to religious services?
   [ ] 1 More than once a week
   [ ] 2 Every week or more often
   [ ] 3 Once or twice a month
   [ ] 4 Every month or so
   [ ] 4 Once or twice a year
   [ ] 6 Never

29. Besides religious services, how often do you take part in other activities at a place of worship?
   [ ] 1 More than once a week
   [ ] 2 Every week or more often
   [ ] 3 Once or twice a month
   [ ] 4 Every month or so
   [ ] 4 Once or twice a year
   [ ] 6 Never

Scoring Instructions

Subscales can be scored independently, or an overall score may be generated by standardizing items and then summing them. For all scale scores, lower scores are indicative of higher levels of spirituality and religious practices. For an overall sum score, lower scores represent low levels of spirituality and religion, and higher scores represent greater levels of spirituality and religion.

Standardizing the items will make conducting further factor analyses possible. Scores can be standardized either using z-scores or so that their scaling is equivalent (i.e., each item scaled on a range of 0 to 3). The five subscales consisting of a 4-point answer format (Meaning, Values/Beliefs, Forgiveness, Religious and Spiritual Coping, and Religious Support) may be transformed from a 1 to 4 range to a 0 to 3 range by subtracting 1.0 from the actual score for each item. For the Daily Spiritual Experience and Organizational Religiousness subscales, which had a 6-point response format, 1.0 can be subtracted from the actual score, which can then be multiplied by 3/5. For the four items that used an 8-point range on the Private Religious Practices scale, 1.0 can be subtracted from the actual score, which can then be multiplied by 3/7. For one item with a 5-point range on Private Religious Practices, 1.0 can be subtracted from the actual score, which may then be multiplied by ¾.