Protestant religiosity and ethical consumer behavior: proMRS-14, a new multidimensional scale
Boonghee YooPurpose
This study aims to develop and validates a new Protestant Multidimensional Religiosity Scale (ProMRS-14) to overcome limitations of existing religion-neutral measures and examines its influence on eight consumer ethical behaviors, integrating marketing theory to deepen understanding of faith-driven consumer decisions.
Design/methodology/approach
An online survey of 1,631 US adults was conducted. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses produced a refined 4-dimensional, 14-item scale demonstrating strong internal consistency, convergent validity and discriminant validity. Regression analyses tested its predictive power against existing religiosity measures.
Findings
ProMRS-14 comprises four dimensions: salvation through Jesus Christ, Bible knowledge, rejection of worldly desires and moral conduct. It outperformed existing measures in explaining consumer ethical behaviors, revealing that religiosity exerts neither uniform nor straightforward influence. Salvation and moral conduct positively influenced behaviors such as recycling and store loyalty, whereas Bible knowledge and rejection of worldly desires produced negative or divergent effects – reflecting tensions between strict biblical adherence and contemporary secular ethics.
Research limitations/implications
The study’s focus on U.S. Protestant Christianity limits generalizability. Future research should validate ProMRS-14 across cultures and generations to broaden understanding of religiosity’s role in ethical consumption.
Practical implications
Marketers and policymakers can apply the scale to segment and better target faith-oriented consumers more accurately and align corporate social responsibility messaging with specific religious values.
Social implications
This study reveals the complex, nonuniform role of Protestant religiosity in shaping ethical consumerism. While salvation-oriented beliefs and moral conduct promote prosocial behaviors like recycling, strict biblical adherence can conflict with contemporary secular ethics. By challenging the assumption that religion inherently fosters universal prosociality, these findings equip policymakers and nonprofits with a precise tool for engagement. To foster sustainable consumption in diverse societies, organizations must move beyond generalized frameworks and align social initiatives with specific religious values through culturally and theologically sensitive advocacy.
Originality/value
This study introduces the first theologically grounded, psychometrically validated ProMRS-14, offering more accurate and deeper insights into the complex relationship between religious conviction and consumer ethics than any existing generalized measure.