Factorial model for the evaluation of the religious experiences and attitudes of the members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church of the Inter-American Division.

Factorial model for the evaluation of the religious experiences and attitudes of the members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church of the Inter-American Division.

Virtual Conference

This study examines aspects associated with the religious experiences of the members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Inter-American Division, based on data obtained from the 2017 Seventh-day Adventist Global Survey. Information from 5185 church members was analyzed, with respect to the battery of items of the general question number 28 of this survey, with the intention of identifying an adequate factorial structure for measuring the level of religious experiences and attitudes of the church members. Through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), two models were obtained to evaluate religious experiences: (1) a first-order model with four constructs: biblical foundations, training, leadership, and attention and care for church members, and (2) a second-order model, with four first-order constructs and the second-order construct called religious experiences. Both theoretical models show a good fit with the sample information, adequate internal consistency, discriminant validity and convergent validity. Likewise, Anova tests were carried out to evaluate the effect of the age group to which the church member belongs, as well as the size of the membership of the local church they attend, on each order one of the constructs of the second model.