The Religious Perfectionism Scale: A Cross-cultural Psychometric Evaluation Among Christians in the United States.

This article focuses on the cross-cultural psychometric evaluation of the Religious Perfectionism Scale (RPS), originally developed among Chinese Buddhists, Christians, and Muslims, within a U.S. Christian sample (N=223). The RPS comprises two subscales: Zealous Religious Dedication (ZRD), reflecting adaptive religious perfectionism, and Religious Self-Criticism (RSC), reflecting maladaptive religious perfectionism. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the two-factor structure in the U.S. sample, and measurement invariance testing showed equivalence in factor loadings and residual variances but only partial invariance in item intercepts between U.S. and Chinese Christian samples. Construct validity was demonstrated through expected correlations of ZRD with religious commitment and positive wellbeing indicators, and RSC with scrupulosity, anxiety, and burnout, suggesting the RPS is a reliable and valid tool for assessing religious perfectionism among U.S. Christians with potential cross-cultural applicability.