Examining Cultural, Ethnic, and Religious Differences with the Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness and Spirituality in the U.S. and India.

Abstract

The Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness/Spirituality (BMMRS) is regularly used to measure spirituality and religiosity in U.S. Christian populations, although it has not been used for making comparisons with non-Western groups. This study compared BMMRS results for 109 individuals (60 in the U.S. and 49 in India) with traumatic brain injury (TBI) from different cultures (U.S., India), ethnic groups (African American, Caucasian, South Asian), and religions (Christian, Hindu, Muslim). In general, the results indicated that U.S. African Americans and Christians reported being the most spiritual, South Asians and Hindus the least. Groups differed significantly in self-reported spiritual experiences, but less in frequency of religious activities. Results suggest using caution when applying Western-based measures of religion and spirituality in non-Western, non-Christian populations.