Abstract:

This study involved a total of 644 students, with 324 participating in Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and 320 in Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). Expert opinions and pilot study results guided the development of a scale comprising 24 items for the Preliminary Modern Religious Perception (P-MRP), which was subsequently administered to the students. Following EFA, a 15-item scale was derived. Subsequently, through CFA, 2 items were excluded from the scale, resulting in a final 13-item structure for the Modern Religious Perception Scale (MRP). MRP comprises three dimensions: Eclectic-Syncretic/Spiritualist, Opposition to Religious Authority/Autonomous, and Rationalist/Positivist, encompassing 13 items. The total variance of the scale was determined to be 50.30%, with a Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) value of 0.885 and a Bartlett's test value of 1491.816. The Cronbach's Alpha reliability coefficient was calculated as 0.875, while the split-half reliability analysis yielded a value of 0.782. Furthermore, t-test results between the top and bottom group scores, utilized to assess discriminative levels of the dimensions, indicated significant differences (t(88)= –35.84, –38.24, –35.38, –33.87, p<0.01, respectively). Given the favorable fit indices observed in CFA, the constructed structure is deemed statistically and theoretically sound. Consequently, MRP was confirmed to be both valid and reliable.

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