Religious deidentification, defined as the process of no longer identifying as religious, has been conceptualized as a multidimensional phenomenon. Van Tongeren and DeWall’s (2023) framework describes this process in terms of disbelief, disengagement, discontinuance, disaffiliation, and religious residue, whereas subsequent qualitative research in Poland further highlighted religion as a constraint, linked to repositioning oneself in God’s role (Falewicz et al., 2026). However, no validated quantitative instrument has yet captured these dimensions within a single measure. The present study aimed to develop and validate the 12-item Multidimensional Scale of Religious Deidentification (MSRD-12). The scale measures three factors—religious deidentification, conceptualized as a composite of disbelief, disengagement, discontinuance, and disaffiliation; religious residue, defined as enduring traces of prior religious identification; and religion as a constraint—as well as a general factor. Across six independent samples of Polish adults (total N = 1,360), CFA indicated good model fit (CFI = 0.948–0.971; GFI = 0.925–0.932; RMSEA = 0.059–0.078). Reliability was high for religious deidentification (Cronbach’s α = 0.83–0.92), religious residue (α = 0.78–0.89), religion as a constraint (α = 0.85–0.91), and the total score (α = 0.82–0.93). Validity was supported by positive correlations with deconversion, religious/spiritual struggles, and external religiosity, and by negative correlations with the Four Basic Dimensions of Religiousness Scale, the Centrality of Religiosity Scale, Catholic religious practices, internal religiosity, and religious identity. All MSRD-12 subscales were also positively associated with anxiety and depression, and negatively with life satisfaction, presence and search for meaning. The MSRD-12 reliably measures dimensions of religious deidentification.
Development and validation of Multidimensional Scale of Religious Deidentification (MSRD-12)