Religion and Social Groups Flashcards
Trends in gender and religiosity
- Women are more religiously active. A church census found the 57% of those attending church were women (Brierley)
- 1.8 million women were church goers compared to 1.36m men
- Hoffman = women express greater interest in religion, have greater personal commitment and attend church more
- Bruce = twice as many women as men in sects
- Heelas and Woodhead = found that 80% of those in the holistic milieu in Kendal were female
Miller and Hoffman
3 reasons why women are more religious then men:
- Differential socialisation - taught to be submissive, passive, obedient and nurturing - characteristics associated with higher levels of religiosity
- Structural locations - men are more likely to work full time, women have more time for church related activities - lack of paid work lives leads to greater need for personal identity which church provides
- Risk - Women are more averse to risk than men and fear going to hell (Bruce disagrees - religion has an affinity with aspects of femininity)
Davie - women closer to questions of life and death
argues that women often fulfil carer roles, that they are closer to questions of life and death and therefore are more likely to think about the ‘ultimate questions’ about the meaning of life
New Age
Women more likely to engage in NAM’s as women are often associated with nature e.g. through childbirth. These movements often celebrate the natural, giving women higher status and self worth. Emphasises the importance of being authentic, links to their subjective experiences.
Social Class (related to gender)
Working class women tend to follow religious groups where they are more passive (fortune telling, charms, superstition). Whereas middle class women are more interested in forms of spirituality that facilitate personal growth.
Evaluation of Gender and Religiosity
despite differences in attendance, evidence shows women are leaving the church at a faster rate than men. This might be due to pressures of home, family and work life. Women have begun to reject traditional subordinate gender roles
Trends in ethnicity and religiosity
- 72% of UK population is Christian
- Many Christians are of black African or Caribbean origin
- Muslims, Hindus and Black Christians are considerably more likely to see religion as important in comparison to white Christians
- Black Christians make up 40% of membership in Pentecostal churches
- Muslims have highest church attendance rate
Evaluation of ethnicity trends
While minorities have higher participation rates, Modood et al found decline in importance of religion for all ethnic groups and that fewer were observant, especially among the second generation.
Globalisation as reason for ethnic differences
- Most ethnic minorities migrate from poorer countries were religion is more valued, so bring this with them and maintain the pattern through their children.
- However, this disregards the role of their experiences as immigrants and minorities in a new society, and how this may give religion a new role as a cultural defence or transition
Cultural defence (Bruce) as reason for ethnic differences
- Argues religion offers support and a sense of cultural identity in an uncertain or hostile environment.
- Bird - religion amongst minorities can be a basis for community solidarity, preserving one’s culture and languages and coping with oppression of racism.
- e.g. some white churches did not welcome black Christians, so they turned to Pentecostal churches
Cultural transition (Bruce) as reason for ethnic differences
- Religion can be used to ease the transition into a new culture. This explains high levels of religious participation amongst first generation immigrants in the USA.
- Bruce sees this in the UK, however once the group has made the transition e.g. Irish Catholics, religion may lose its role and decline in importance
- Also, ethnic minorities are expected to have high levels of religiosity due to strong family pressure to maintain religious commitment
Trends in age and religiosity
The older the person is the more likely they are to attend religious services, with two exceptions:
1- The under 15’s have high levels of attendance, probably because they are made to go by parents
2- The over 65’s have lower attendance are they more likely to be disabled or sick
Voas and Crockett (2005)
Identify two main reasons for the age difference in religious participation:
- The ageing effect : people turn to religion as they get older. Approaching death means we ‘naturally’ become concerned about spiritual matters such as the after life and repenting past misdeeds
- The generational effect : as society becomes more secular each new generation is less religious. There are more old people attending church not because they are attracted to religion in their old age but because they grew up when religion was popular
Evaluation of Age and Religiosity
- Pentecostal churches tend to go against the trend of having ageing members by continuing to attract young people to their churches
- Young people have been found to be attracted to world rejecting NRM’s as they lack adult commitments. This has occurred as young people have experienced the gradual lengthening of education and wider accessibility to higher education. Similarly these NRM’s provide young people certainty and the offer of radical and immediate solutions to social and personal problems
Class religiosity trends
Statistically the middle class are more likely to participate in CofE services - attending church more than the working class. This may be because the elite are often presented as part of the religious establishment. For example, attendance to Church of England services by royalty is often televised. Although Roman Catholic Church has been found to have a higher appeal
