Psychometric properties of post-critical belief scale and centrality of religiosity scale: Portuguese versions

The primary objective of this research is to confirm the four-dimensional structure of the Post-Critical Belief Scale (PCBS) and the five-dimensional structure of the Centrality of Religiosity Scale (CRS), specifically for the Portuguese population. Additionally, the study aims to investigate the relationship between these religious scales. The research employed both exploratory factorial analysis with a polychoric matrix (suitable for ordinal data) and confirmatory factorial analysis with maximum likelihood estimation. The reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity of the scales were evaluated using measures such as Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, composite reliability (CR), average variance extracted (AVE), and AVE squared roots. Pearson correlations were calculated to explore the associations between the two instruments. The Portuguese adaptations of both the PCBS and CRS exhibited strong model fits. Significant correlations were observed among the instruments and with religious identity. The study identified variations in dimensions of PCBS and CRS concerning sociodemographic variables. This research contributes validated instruments for assessing religiosity within the Portuguese population.