Beliefs - 5.1b - Social Groups & Religiosity Flashcards
Gender - Trends in Religious Belief
More women than men believe in God & are more likely to practice religion, whilst having increased interest & commitment to religion
Gender & Religiosity (Key Studies)
> Bruce, Heelas & Woodhead (Women & Sects & Holistic Milieu)
> Miller & Hoffman (Risk, Socialisation & Roles)
> Davie (Closer to Life’s Big Questions & Visions of God)
> Brusco (Pentecostal Gender Paradox
Bruce, Heelas & Woodhead (Women & Sects & Holistic Milieu)
Twice as many women than men are in sects & 80% of people in the holistic milieu in Kendal are women
Miller & Hoffman - Reasons for Women More Involvement in Religion
> Risk
Socialisation
Roles
Miller & Hoffman - Risk
> Lack of religious belief means people are at risk of going to hell.
> Men are less-risk averse than women, so are more likely to take the risk & not believe in religion
Davie - Criticisms of Risk
> Disappearance of danger & risk associated with childbirths for women in western societies
> So decline of religion as a result of lower birth rates
Miller & Hoffman - Socialisation
> Women are socialised to be passive obedient & nurturing, leads to greater involvement in religion, these qualities are valued by most by religion
> Men who’ve got these qualities are also more likely to be religious
Miller & Hoffman - Roles
> Gender roles mean less women are in paid work than men, so have more time to participate in religious activities.
Reasons for Women More Involvement in Religion
> Closer to Life’s Big Questions > Visions of God > Guardians of Family Life & Tradition > Status Frustration > Greater Life Expectancy
Davie - Closer to Life’s Big Questions - Reasons for Women More Involvement in Religion
> Women see God as loving, comforting & forgiving, but men see him as power & control
> So women are more likely to turn to God for support & guidance.
Guardians of Family Life & Tradition - Reasons for Women More Involvement in Religion
> Women expected to teach family values & culture to children, so therefore more likely to teach religion to children & subsequently participate.
Status Frustration - Reasons for Women More Involvement in Religion
> Women more likely to experience status frustration due to lack of personal fulfilment or due to confinement at home.
> So religious participation including New Age Movements & cults give compensations & theodicies for their oppression.
Greater Life Expectancy - Reasons for Women More Involvement in Religion
> Women have greater life expectancy than men, so are more likely to be widowed & live own their as they age
> So leads to increased religiosity as it can be source of comfort & building a support network
Reasons for More Women Joining New Age movements (Key Studies)
> Bruce (Women’s Experiences)
Brown (Authentic)
Woodhead (Individual Sphere)
> S&B (Women & Compensators for Deprivation)
Aldridge (Goddess Religions)
Ruickbie (Wiccan)
General View for More Women Joining the New Age
> Women more associated with nature due to childbirth & healing role, so therefore attracted to the New Age
> As they celebrate nature & give women increased status & self worth
Bruce (Women’s Experiences) - Reasons for More Women Joining New Age
> Child care makes women less aggressive & goal orientated & more cooperative & caring
> So fits expressive emphasis of New Age
Brown (Authentic) - Reasons for More Women Joining New Age
> New Age appeal to women’s wish for autonomy as they see their roles as restrictive
> New Age are attractive as they emphasise being authentic rather than acting out gender roles
> But some like fundamentalism due to certainties of the gender roles it has
Woodhead (Individual Sphere) - Reasons for More Women Joining New Age
> Appeal to individual sphere of Women’s inner self & personal growth in opposition to restrictive social roles
> Giving sense of wholeness
Aldridge (Goddess Reg’s) - Reasons for More Women Joining New Age
New Age gives women a central role, giving increased positive images of femininity compared to traditional religions
Ruickbie (Wiccan) - Reasons for More Women Joining New Age
Female witches have increased status jobs/own businesses, but male witches usually from deprived backgrounds
Pentecostal Gender Paradox
> Pentecostalism has grown among the working class in Latin America , despite being seen as patriarchal e.g. men seen in charge of homes & churches
> It’s attractive to women
Brusco - Pentecostal Gender Paradox
> Pentecostalism demands followers to live ascetically with a traditional domestic division of labour & they use these ideas to combat idea of machismo (men not acting responsibly - drinking, gambling etc).
> Men pressured by church, to behave responsibly & support families, not spending income on prostitutes & gambling
> Critiquing sexual irresponsibility & wastefulness, so popular with women.