Beliefs - 5.7 - Social Groups & Religiousity 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.
Reasons for Women’s Decline in Religion
> Changing Role of Women
Changing Family Relationships & Sexuality
Fertility Levels
Changing Role of Women - Reasons for Women’s Decline in Religion
In paid work, so don’t have time to focus on religion, harder to juggle triple shift with religious responsibilities
Changing Family Relationships & Sexuality - Reasons for Women’s Decline in Religion
> Postmodernity led to LGBT relationships, cohabitation & Lone Parent Families opposed by churches
> Church makes women deny & be silent on sexual desires & activities
Fertility Levels - Reasons for Women’s Decline in Religion
Increase in feminism mean women having fewer children, so older generations aren’t being replaced in church & New Age
Trends in Ethnicity & Religion
> Ethic Minorities have increased average rates for religiosity e.g. Muslims, Hindus & Blacks
> Increasingly likely to see religion as important & attend a place of worship compared to whites
Trends in Ethnicity & Religion (Key Study)
Madood (Decline of Religion in Ethnic Groups)
Madood & Decline of Religion in Ethnic Groups
> Decrease in importance of religion, fewer were observant, especially among the second generation
> 74% of Muslims saw religion as important in their lives, compared with only 32% of White Catholic
Reasons for Ethnic Differences
> Country of Origin > Cultural Defence > Cultural Transition > Social Deprivation & Marginality > Social Identity
Country of Origin - Reasons for Ethnic Differences
Ethnic minorities come from countries with increased levels of religious practice e.g. Pakistan & maintain this pattern e.g. in UK
Reasons for Ethnic Differences (Key Studies)
> Bruce & Bird (Cultural Defence)
Brierley (Cultural Defence)
> Herberg (Cultural Transition)
Pryce (Cultural Transition)
Beckford (Cultural Transition)
Bruce & Bird (Cultural Defence) - Reasons for Ethnic Differences (Key Studies)
> Religion offers support & cultural identity in hostile environments
> Basis for community solidarity & preserving culture, language & coping with oppression in a racist society.
> Blacks unwelcomed by white churches, so founded own black ones or joined pentecostals
Brierley (Cultural Defence) - Reasons for Ethnic Differences (Key Study)
Big increase of new churches in London catering for specific languages & nationalities due to immigration
Herberg (Cultural Transition) - Reasons for Ethnic Differences (Key Study)
> Religion used for easing transition into a new culture
> Gives support/sense of community in new environment.
> Gives increased levels of reg participation for first generation immigrants in US
General Criticisms of Herberg
> But once group made transition into wider society, religion loses role
> But in some generations no decline e.g. Muslims
Pryce (Cultural Transition) - Reasons for Ethnic Differences (Key Study)
> Pentecostalism very adaptive religion giving migrants values appropriate to new world & in a format they understood
> Helps Afro-Caribbean communities adapt to society and helps members succeed
> Encouraging self-reliance gives mutual support & hope of improving situation.
Beckford (Cultural Transition) - Reasons for Ethnic Differences (Key Study)
Due to continued need for cultural defence, pentecostalism gives increased sense of independence to blacks
Social Deprivation & Marginality - Reasons for Ethnic Differences
> Dissatisfaction with lack of status in society is reason for increased religiosity in ethnic minorities as they’re poorest in UK
> Asian women use religion as support as they may be marginalised, due to poor English
> Religion gives source of identity & lacking from mainstream.
Social Identity - Reasons for Ethnic Differences
> Provides source of identity e.g. dress, food & festivals, helps religious people resist the denial of status & devaluing of culture through racism.
> British born Pakistanis in London identified as Muslim not Asian
> Gave them stability when faced with uncertainty in other aspects of life
Trends in Age & Religiosity
> Old Age Pensioners more likely to attend religious services
> By 2025 predicted only 2.5% of churchgoers will be 15-19yrs old
Reasons for Higher Old Age Pensioner Religiosity
> Ageing Effect
> Generational Effect
Ageing Effect - Reasons for Higher Old Age Pensioner Religiosity
> Ageing Effect
> Generational Effect
Ageing Effect - Reasons for Higher OAP Religiosity
> As people come closer to death spirituality increases, leading to increased religiosity as people look for answers on afterlife etc & forgiveness of sin
> More OAP women go church than men as they live longer
Generational Effect - Reasons for Higher OAP Religiosity
> OAP generations are more religious due to upbringing - they are less secure compared to today’s youth due to war & massive social change.
> e.g. Existential Security Theory
Reasons for Young Lower Levels of Religiosity (Key Studies)
> Beckford (Socialisation)
Brierley (Ritualism & Tradition)
Collins-Mayo (Individualisation)
Beckford (Socialisation) - Reasons for Young Lower Levels of Religiosity
> Unlikely parents pass on religious beliefs to children, due to increased inter-faith marriages
> Sunday schools now rare so churches unable to recruit for them e.g. Cultural Amnesia
Brierley (Ritualism & Tradition) - Reasons for Young Lower Levels of Religiosity
Many children thought church was boring & couldn’t relate to rituals & teaching so don’t attend
Collins-Mayo (Indvidualisation) - Reasons for Young Lower Levels of Religiosity
> Religion is now a personal choice in postmodernity, so young unobligated to join particular church or religion
> Instead to chose to spend free time on leisure
Trends on Social Class & Religiosity
> Not straightforward middle class are more likely to go church, but less likely to believe in God
> More likely to be atheists & join world-affirming & rejecting NRM’s
> Working class more likely to believe in God, but - likely to go church, certain denominations & sects specifically appeal to working class e.g. Methodism
Trends on Social Class & Religiosity (Key Studies)
> Marxist (Social Class & Religiosity)
Farthing (Class & Church Attendance)
Lawes (Reg Belief & Social Class)
Bruce & Heelas (Sects, Cults, New Age & Social Class)
Bruce (Class Differences in New Age beliefs)
Marxist view on Social Class & Religiosity
> Religious participation increased in deprived of society as religion gives means of coping with deprivation & oppression
> Upper class only use religion to justify authority & ideology.
Farthing - Class & Church Attendance
More middle class activity with upper class more fringe goers & working class less likely to be regular attendees
Lawes - Religous Belief & Social Class
> Devout theist mostly come from working class backgrounds with less academic qualifications
> But devout atheists come from upper class backgrounds & are more likely to go on to Higher Education
> Contradicts church attendance
Bruce & Heelas - Sects, Cults, New Age & Social Class
> Sects and Cults mostly from most deprived groups in society, but New Age cults & world-affirming NRM’s have greater appeal to upper class
> Due to consumerist nature of group & New Age Movements they are more attractive to middle class who can afford it
Bruce (Class Differences in New Age beliefs)
> New Age beliefs emphasising personal autonomy & self-development appeal to the middle class
> Working class increasingly attracted to ideas giving passive role e.g. fatalistic ideas e.g horoscopes or lucky charms.
> Link to education e.g. Working class fatalism vs Middle class meritocracy
Criticisms of Middle class & Religiosity
> Middle class may not be more religious but just going church to keep up appearances or get children into catholic schools with better academic performance
> Or under increased social pressure to show they’re more religious compared to the working class
