The Five Dimensions of Muslim
Religiosity. Results of an Empirical Study
FEED THE POOR
Feeding the poor and needy is an act that draws us closer to Allah. We earn His forgiveness, mercies and blessings through this act of charity.
“Anyone who looks after and works for a widow and a poor person is like a warrior fighting for Allah?s cause, or like a person who fasts during the day and prays all night. (Bukhari)
Yasemin El-Menouar
Bertelsmann Stiftung
Abstract
In this paper a new instrument measuring Muslim religiosity is presented. Drawing
on Glock’s multidimensional concept of religiosity, a quantitative paper-and-pencil
study among 228 Muslims living in German cities was carried out. While previous studies have often simply translated indicators measuring Christian religiosity
into Islamic terminology, this study applies Glock’s model taking into account the
specific characteristics of Islamic piety. In particular, the function of his fifth dimension of secular consequences was modified: Contrary to other denominations, in
Islam this dimension is regarded to be as unique and independent as the other four.
Empirical findings confirm this assumption. Applying principal component analysis
with oblimin rotation yields a five-dimensional structure of Muslim religiosity: 1.
Basic religiosity, 2. Central duties, 3. Religious experience, 4. Religious knowledge,
and 5. Orthopraxis. Further statistical analysis indicates that the scales are reliable
and internally valid.
For the full study please go here: MDA_Vol8_2014-1_El-Menouar.pdf (gesis.org)