Mysticism in Chinese Christians and Non-Christians: Measurement Invariance of the Mysticism Scale and Implications for the Mean Differences

In this study, the authors validated the 3-factor, 8-facet model of Hood's Mysticism Scale and explored mean differences in mysticism with 330 indigenous Chinese Christian and 323 non-Christian participants. Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated good fit for the overall Chinese sample and established measurement invariance of the instrument across the 2 groups. Both groups scored above the midpoint on the total Mysticism Scale, whereas Christians scored significantly higher in the mystical interpretation factor than did non-Christians. Controlling for demographic variables, multiple regression procedures revealed that a high intrinsic religious orientation mediated the association of Christian religious affiliation with mysticism. These results yielded patterns consistent with those found in the West and suggested that the Mysticism Scale was a valid quantitative measure for exploring spirituality issues in Chinese society.