The Development and Validation of a Qur’an-Based Instrument to Assess Islamic Religiosity: The Religiosity of Islam Scale

Abstract

Previous efforts to develop instruments to measure Islamic religiosity have been relatively unsuccessful. These instruments have extended a Christian instrument or Western concepts to study Muslims, and have failed to report acceptable psychometric properties or have included items that are more political in nature. We present a new instrument, the Religiosity of Islam Scale (RoIS), that attempts to remedy these flaws. The RoIS is a 19-item instrument with two subscales: Islamic Beliefs and Islamic Behavioral Practices. Supportive reliability and validity data are reported. A brief discussion of current sociopolitical considerations for conducting research with Muslims in the United States is offered.