Open-Mindedness and Indiscrimination Antireligious Orientation

Abstract

Allport and Ross's Religious Orientation Scale has been widely criticized for lack of conceptual clarity. The present research employs the scoring technique devised by Ralph Hood which allows for the identification and measurement of four, rather than three categories of Religious Orientation. The new fourth category is labeled indiscriminate antireligious orientation. Data were collected from adolescents (and their parents) attending Catholic parochial and Sunday schools in various parts of the United States. Using the Rokeach Dogmatism Scale, analysis showed the indiscriminately antireligious to be the most open-minded of the four categories of religious orientation, and to be significantly more open-minded than the extrinsics and the indiscriminately proreligious. Caution is urged in interpreting Hood's procedure for scoring the religious Orientation Scale, and questions are raised concerning the validity of the scale when used with Catholic subjects.