The Three-Dimensional Structure of Secular Belief Systems: Exploratory Factor Analysis and Investigation of Its Psychological and Political Correlates

Previous efforts to investigate secular belief systems assumed that secularism is the state of having no religious affiliations. However, little attempts have been made to develop personal-level instruments to measure secularism based on its belief contents. To fill this gap in literature, we estimated the psychometric properties of a 21-item secular belief scale. A total of 317 participants completed our online surveys. Our exploratory factor analysis revealed that the 21-item secular belief scale were structured in three dimensions: 1. The rejection of supernatural explanation, 2. The separation of the church and the state, and 3. The endorsement of human rationality. In an attempt to validate the scale based on external validity, we found that secular beliefs were associated with other psychological and political variables such as the need for cognitive closure, right-wing authoritarianism, and analytical thinking. Moreover, all three dimensions were found to be internally consistent. Our secular belief scale is thus a valid and reliable measure which enables the interested researchers to examine the belief content of secular people.