Social groups

Question 1

Voas and Crockett

Answer 1

Offer two explanations for churchgoers being older; the ageing effect and the generational effect

Question 2

What is the ageing effect?

Answer 2

As people get closer to death, they want answers to life’s questions

Question 3

What is the generational effect?

Answer 3

As society becomes more secular, each new generation is less religious than the one before because they are not socialised into faith

Question 4

Miller and Hoffman

Answer 4

Offer three reasons for women’s religiosity; structural locations, socialisation and risk

Question 5

Expand on Miller and Hoffman’s socialisation explanation

Answer 5

Passive, obedience and caring are qualities suited to religion and make women more likely to follow the rules and instructions given to them because strict rules being dictated to them suit their personalities

Question 6

Explain Miller and Hoffman’s structural locations

Answer 6

Women work part-time/be full time carers which gives them more time to go to Church and want to do the best caregiving job they can, which could involve introducing their child to religion

Question 7

Explain Miller and Hoffman’s risk explanation

Answer 7

Women are more adverse to risk and therefore take more precautions, including being part of a religious movement to be protected by God and go to a good afterlife

Question 8

Davie

Answer 8

Women are often carers and think about the ultimate questions of life and death more because they are closer to these questions in their caregiver role

Question 9

Bruce

Answer 9

There are two key reasons ethnic minorities have higher rates of religion: cultural defence and cultural transition

Question 10

How do ethnic minorities use the cultural defence outlined by Bruce?

Answer 10

Ethnic minorities use religion as a cultural defence to preserve their culture, identity and traditions

Question 11

How do ethnic minorities use religion as a cultural transition?

Answer 11

Helps ease the transition into a new country because it provides a community with a shared belief system that will help with language or other practical problems with relocating, e.g. job opportunities

Question 12

Which theorists from other units can be used to explain class differences?

Answer 12

Weber (theodicy of disprivilege), Norris and Inglehart (existential security theory), Marx (opium) and Lenin (spiritual gin)