Gender and religiosity Cage: G

Stats Women tend to be more religious than men Eg life after death: men= 39%, women= 57% Most church goers are female and they are more likely than men to attend church regularly. Famle churchgoers outnumber males by almost half a million (Brierley) British social attitudes survey found: More women than men (55% vs 44%) say they have a religion More women than men (38% vs 26%) say religion is important to them and more describe themselves as ‘spiritual’ (40% vs 38%)

Reasons for gender differences - Socialisation, motherhood and femininity - Women, compensators and sects - Women and the new age: the individual sphere - The Pentecostal gender paradox

Socialisation, motherhood and femininity

Socialisation Women are more religious because they are socialised to be more passive, obedient and caring whereas men are socialised to be active and rational. This is known as differential socialisation which could explain womens religiosity because religion values these qualities Eg religions like Christianity emphasise obedience to god This could explain women's greater involvement in religion as they are more likely than men to be attracted to religion as it reinforces their gender differences

Motherhood Womens experience of child-bearing and child rearing makes them less aggressive and goal orientated, are more cooperative and caring. This would explain their greater involvement in the new age – ideas such as gaia (mother earth as a living entity), natural solutions and therapies associated with well-being like herbalism, yoga and meditation The study in Kendal found that 80% of participants in the holistic milieu were female. As well as this some religions emphasise being caring- this links to womens values – new age work together to care

Women are more exposed than men to ups and downs and change in life Women are more exposed than men to ups and downs and change in life. Eg through childbirth, caring for the elderly and through their greater participation in paid caring jobs (expressive professions) including teacher, nurse, social workers and informal carers of children and the elderly, the disabled the sick/dying in the family Davie suggests that these factors give women a close association with life and death than men have, and there are also central issues for many religions They make women more aware of the vulnerability of human life, and more attuned to the spiritual dimensions of human existence Parsons: existential questions

Femininity The process of rationalism led to a decline in male church going. Churches became ‘increasingly feminised’ Woodhead: they placed more emphasis on love, care and relationships and less on god as an all powerful being Woodhead argues that this continues to make religion more attractive to women as they associate god with love, comfort and forgiveness, which are linked with traditional femininity and family roles The fact that women lean more to people-orientation than to concerns with power may explain their greater involvement in religion

Women compensators and sects Women are more likely than men to face social deprivation and marginality (eg racially, glass ceiling, materially etc) and may experience alienation from wider society

Organismic deprivation Stems from physical and mental health problems. Women are more likely to suffer ill health and thus seek the healing that sexts offer Eg jim jones leader of peoples temple (sect) healed people

Ethical deprivation Women tend to be more morally conservative. They are thus more likely to regard the world are being in a moral decline and be attracted to sects, which often share the same view

Social deprivation Sects attract poorer groups and women are more likely to be poor Sexts offer a theodicy of disprivilege because they want a justification of why they are poor/suffering and where they are going

These circumstances mean that women may seek and find some solace in religious groups which provide theodicies and offer compensation

Women and the new age – the individual sphere

Women in paid work may experience a role conflict (instrumental vs expressive – women are going both) between their masculine, instrumental role in the public sphere of work, and their traditional expressive feminine role in the private sphere of the family Woodhead: new age beliefs appeal to a third sphere (work, family, individual) which is concerned with individual autonomy and personal growth rather than role performance As the new age emphasises the importance of being authentic (true) rather than merely acting out roles, women are attracted to the new age as it creates a new source of identity for women based on their inner self rather than social roles, giving them a sense of wholeness Want an identity that they can create rather than identity that society has created for them

Brusco: the Pentecostal gender paradox Pentecostals in columbia

Women use religion to control men- persuade them to practice what they preach eg not to gamble/drink Their religion criticised that sex was irresponsible and wastefulness of the machismo culture – gives women power to influence men- use it as a means of improving their position – looked to use it as a means of empowerment. Gives a voice/ control/ability to influence others to women

Recent trends: the declining participation of women (a03)

There has been a decline in womens participation in religious activities in the uk due to Impact of feminism Detraditionalisation- women rejecting traditional roles, attracted to new age Social changes- women in paid position