religiosity and social groups Flashcards
what is religious belief?
believing that the world is controlled by supernatural forces e.g., a god
what is religiosity?
how religious the person is
GENDER DIFFERENCES
who are the biggest consumers of religion?
women
what are they more likely to do?
have religious beliefs and practice their religions
what is this true for?
all faiths and religious organisations including NRMS AND NAMS
what is the exception?
Islam, where men show greater commitment and involvement
how much do female churchgoers outnumber males?
half a million (Brierley 2005)
what percentage of women say they have a religion compared to men according to the British Social Attitudes Survey 2012?
55% vs 44%
what percentage of women are atheists or agnostics vs men?
34 % vs 54%
what are women more likely to do in all major faiths in the UK except for Sikhs?
practice their religion (Ferguson and Hussey 2010)
who identified 3 main reasons for women’s higher levels of religiosity/participation compared to men?
Miller and Hoffman (1995)
what are the 3 reasons identified by Miller and Hoffman (1995)?
- risk-taking
- socialisation
- gender roles
what does risk-taking mean?
men are less religious than women because they have a greater taste for risk i.e. the risk they won’t go to heaven. if women are more risk-averse they’re more likely to be religious as a safeguard
1 criticism of risk-taking
Davie (2013) notes that the virtual disappearance of risks associated with childbirth throughout history, women in western societies face fewer risks and may be becoming less religious
what does socialisation mean?
women are socialised to be more passive, obedient and caring which are qualities valued by religions, so women are more likely than men to be attracted to religion
1 criticism of socialisation
men who also have these qualities are more likely to be religious
what does gender roles mean?
women are more likely to work part-time or to be full-time carers, so have more time and opportunity for religious activities. women are also more likely to be attracted to the church as a source of gender identity
what does Greeley (1992) argue increases women’s religiosity?
their role in taking care of other family members because it involves responsibility for their ‘ultimate’ welfare as well as their everyday needs
what does Davie (2013) argue women are closer to?
birth and death which brings them closer to ‘ultimate’ questions about the meaning of life that religion is concerned with
what does Davie (2013) say men view their God in terms of?
power and control
what does Davie (2013) say women view their God in terms of?
love, comfort and forgiveness
quote from Simone De Beauvoir from her book ‘The Second Sex’
‘man enjoys the great advantage of having God endorse the code he writes’
3 reasons women are more attracted to NAMS
- they celebrate the ‘natural and involve healing’
- they emphasise the importance of being ‘authentic’
- they appeal to the individual sphere and personal autonomy
why are women more attracted to NAMS if they celebrate the ‘natural’ and involve healing?
- Bruce (2011) - women’s experience of child-rearing make them less aggressive
- where men wish to achieve, women wish to feel
- women are often associated with ‘nature’ so are attracted to these organisations which gives women a higher status and sense of self-worth
why are women more attracted to NAMS if they emphasise the importance of being ‘authentic’?
- emphasises the importance of being authentic rather than acting out gender roles
- more likely to perceive their roles as restricitve
why are women more attracted to NAMS if they appeal to the individual sphere and personal autonomy?
- Woodhead (2001) - for women in paid work who experience a conflict between their instrumental and expressive role, NAMS appeal to a third sphere called the individual sphere
- individual sphere - concerned with the individual autonomy and personal growth
1 criticism from Bruce (1996)
there are social class differences in religiosity. New Age beliefs tend to appeal to some m/c women. w/c women tend to be more attracted to ideas that give them a passive role or fatalistic ideas e.g., horoscopes
how many more women than men does Bruce (1996) estimate are involved in sects?
twice as many
what is one explanation for this?
sects offer compensators for different types of deprivation which are more common among women
what are the 3 types of deprivation according to Stark and Bainbridge (1985)
- organismic deprivation
- ethical deprivation
- social deprivation