Multidimensional Quest Orientation Scale

Multidimensional Quest Orientation Scale (Beck, Jessup, 2004)

Directions: Please respond to each statement by indicating how much you agree or disagree with it. Write the number in the space provided, using the following rating scale:

1                             2                             3                             4                             5                             6                             7

Disagree Strongly                                                           Neutral/Mixed                                 Agree Strongly

Section 1: (Sum of items generates Tentativeness score)

1. I believe that the more spiritually mature I become I will discover more questions than answers.

2. I am not disturbed by unanswered questions in my religious life.

3. I believe religious doubts play an important role in spiritual development.

4. I believe a central part of spiritual maturity is growing comfortable with doubt.

5. I am comfortable leaving many of my spiritual questions unanswered.

6. I feel that spiritually mature people struggle with doubts.

7. I understand that most of my religious questions cannot be answered.

8. I don’t feel a need to know all the answers to every religious question I may have.

9. I feel that it is naive to expect definitive answers to deep religious questions.

10. My religious questions have led to deeper questions rather than definitive answers.

 

Section 2: (Sum of items generates Change score)

1. I anticipate dramatically changing my religious beliefs in the future.

2. I frequently assume that my current religious beliefs may be wrong.

3. I believe spiritual growth requires consistent change in one’s religious beliefs.

4. I believe that changing one’s religious beliefs is a good sign of spiritual development.

5. I often question if some of my most central religious beliefs are wrong.

6. Spiritual maturity involves changing one’s religious beliefs over time.

7. I believe that consistently questioning my current religious beliefs will promote spiritual growth.

8. I think changing one’s religious beliefs over time is a sign of spiritual maturity.

9. Mostly it is spiritually immature people who hold the same religious beliefs for long periods of time.

 

Section 3: (Sum of items generates Ecumenism score)

1. I don’t think it really matters what church (e.g. Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Assemblies of God) a person attends as long as they love and serve God.

2. There are valuable lessons to be learned from Christian faiths (e.g. Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Assemblies of God) that are different from my own.

3. I don’t think one Christian faith (e.g. Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Assemblies of God) is any more correct when compared to the others.

4. Being a Christian is not about being a member of any one Christian faith (e.g. Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Assemblies of God).

5. I don’t believe God approves of any one Christian church or congregation (e.g. Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Assemblies of God) over another.

6. I think that the doctrinal differences between Christian churches and congregations (e.g. Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Assemblies of God) are largely irrelevant in God’s eyes.

7. I feel that I could serve God being a member of many different kinds of Christian churches and congregations (e.g. Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Assemblies of God).

8. To me, church affiliation (e.g. Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Assemblies of God) is an irrelevant issue in determining one’s salvation.

 

Section 4: (Reverse score item 4, then sum of items generates Universality score)

1. I think the major world religions (e.g. Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism) are equally valid ways to seek God.

2. The major world religions (e.g. Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism) may take different paths, but each path ultimately leads to God.

3. Heaven is open to people of all world religions (e.g. Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism).

4. I believe that Christianity is the only way to know God and receive salvation as opposed to other world religions (e.g. Judaism, Islam, Buddhism).

 

Section 5: (Sum of items generates Exploration score)

1. In my effort to seek after God I have spent a lot of time studying the teachings of religions around the world.

2. I have spent more time compared with most people I know investigating the foundations of my religious faith.

3. I consistently explore issues that will deepen my religious faith.

4. I would characterize my religious life as one of consistent searching and exploration.

5. I have been placing a lot of effort in exploring religious questions.

6. I would characterize most of my religious behavior as a “search for truth.”

 

Section 6: (Sum of items generates Moralistic Interpretation score)

1. I feel that the spiritual meaning of Biblical stories are more important than their historical accuracy.

2. I feel that reading the Biblical stories in a literal way misses their deeper spiritual meaning.

3. I believe much of the truth of the Bible is primarily found in reading its stories allegorically.

4. A primarily literal reading of the Bible is an overly simplistic way of understanding the meaning of its stories.

5. A primarily literal reading of the Bible may miss its deeper truths.

6. A deep understanding of the Bible involves looking past the literal meaning to see the deeper spiritual truth being communicated.

 

Section 7: (Sum of items generates Religious Angst score)

1. My religious development has often been filled with doubt and has been troubling at times.

2. I have often felt lost and alone during my spiritual journey.

3. I have often felt abandoned by God during my spiritual journey.

4. My faith in God is accompanied by anxiety and doubt.

5. I would mostly describe my spiritual journey as a “struggle.”

6. Although I feel joy and peace in my spiritual life, I also frequently experience feelings of anxiety and loneliness.

 

Section 8: (Reverse score items 2 and 4, then sum of items generates Complexity score)

1. I would characterize my religious beliefs as very philosophical in nature.

2. I dislike very philosophical answers to my religious questions.

3. I feel like most religious questions involve complex answers that take a lifetime to fully understand.

4. I feel that most things in religion are clear and easy to understand.

5. I feel that it takes a lot of time and intensive study to even begin to have an informed opinion about religious issues.

6. It would be hard for me to express my religious views in a short amount of time due to the complexity of the arguments I would give.

7. I would characterize my religious beliefs as very complex rather than simple and straightforward.

8. I feel that most religious questions do not have simple, straightforward answers.

 

Section 9: (Sum of items generates Existential Motives score)

1. My religious journey has primarily been devoted toward finding a meaning or purpose for my life rather than engaging in traditional religious practices.

2. My religious questions have been primarily devoted to exploring my place in the universe rather than about religious doctrines and belief systems.

3. What seems to have primarily motivated my religious development is a search for meaning in a seemingly random universe.

4. My religious searching has been primarily devoted toward finding a meaning or purpose for my life rather than the traditional focus of developing a relationship with a personal God.

5. My religious journey has more abstract and philosophical than the more traditional religious efforts to develop a relationship with a personal God.