Religious involvement over time: Assessing measurement invariance of the Religious Involvement scale in Ukraine

Abstract

This study examines the measurement invariance of the Religious Involvement Scale (RI scale) in Ukraine. Using data from the European Social Survey (ESS) and a nationwide survey conducted just before the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022, we provide a detailed analysis of the RI scale in the Ukrainian context. Previous research using multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (MGCFA) across countries lacked a focused analysis on Ukraine, especially after the Revolution of Dignity. We used MGCFA to test the RI scale across different ESS waves and the 2022 Ukrainian survey. The metric invariance of the scale across all time points was not confirmed. We also tested results excluding data from occupied territories and found similar patterns. Partial metric invariance was observed for the period from 2004 to 2013. Our findings indicate that full metric invariance was only achieved for 2006-2013, with scalar invariance not achieved. In addition, the surveys conducted in 2004 and after 2014 had somewhat different patterns of correlations between scale components compared to other waves of the ESS. We suggest that political dynamics have influenced the social aspects of religiosity in Ukraine; therefore, it is important to consider the political context when assessing religious involvement. Our preliminary findings highlight the importance of socio-political factors in measuring and interpreting religiosity.