Social groups and religiosity

Question 1

Miller and Hoffman (women)

Answer 1

-women are more likely to:
> express a greater interest in religion
>have a stronger religious commitment
>attend church more often

Question 2

stats of women in religions

Answer 2

-1.8 mill women vs 1.36 mill men (england 2005)
-55% of women have a religion vs 44% of men
-Heelas & woodhead= 80% of participants at holistic milieu in Kendal were female
-34% of women are agnostic/ atheist vs 54% of men

Question 3

diff genders and their views on God

Answer 3

-Men= the god of power and control
-women= the god of love and forgiving

Question 4

Brown

Answer 4

-women are leaving churches bc they’re rejecting traditional subordinate gender roles. Some women are joining new age movements but their numbers are modest

Question 5

explanations for women in religion (gender roles and identity) 1,2,3

Answer 5

-more risk adverse than men=eternal damnation if not religious, but less likely to die in birth now
-socialised differently= passive obedient, caring are valued within church
-their roles mean they have more time= full time carers or work part time

Question 6

explanations for women in religion (gender roles and identity) 4,5

Answer 6

-gender identity as a carer attracts them= Greeley: once women have kids etc they implicitly assume greater responsibility for their welfare. women are more caring and this is associated w/ a relig outlook
-their roles bring them closer to birth/death= Davie: childbearing/ caring for elderly means women are closer to the ‘ultimate question’ abt the meaning of life

Question 7

Bruce (paid work)

Answer 7

-women have lower levels of paid work
-rationalisation has made religion more prevalent in the priv sphere (women’s area)
-men’s withdrawal from religion meant that churches became feminised spaces e.g. female bishops 2015
-as women join more masculine roles, their involvement also declines- decline of female piety

Question 8

woodhead (contemporary women)

Answer 8

-work centered= more likely to follow male patterns of abandoning the church bc it doesn’t fit their busy schedules
-home centered= their priority is home/ family. Tend to be traditionally Christian bc Christianity affirms their priority
-jugglers= home & work. Find alternatives e.g. spirituality bc these affirm their fam commitments whilst endorsing female empowerment

Question 9

women in new age movements

Answer 9

-femininity more attuned to natural rhythms of life
-new age emphasise the ‘natural’ e.g. herbs
-women given higher status in these movements
-Heelas and Woodhead= 80% female in Kendal

Question 10

childrearing and women in new age movements

Answer 10

-Bruce
-child rearing makes women less aggressive and goal orientated and more cooperative and caring
-fits the expressive emphasis of the new age

Question 11

Paid work and women in the new age

Answer 11

-women in paid work may exp a role conflict between masculine (paid) and feminine (house) work
-Woodhead= Newage appeals to this with the ‘individual sphere’ which is concerned w/ individual autonomy and not roles
-Brown= source of identity and the inner ‘self’ appeals to women’s wish for autonomy

Question 12

women and class

Answer 12

-Bruce= class differences in which religions appeal
-wc= passive roles with an all powerful God
-mc= personal autonomy, control

Question 13

women and sects

Answer 13

-ratio =2:1
-women started 7th Day Adventists and Christian Science
-stark and brainbridge:
>organismic deprivation: women are more likely to suffer ill health so seek healing from sects
>ethical deprivation: women are more likely to be conservative
>social deprivation: women more likely to be poor

Question 14

Pentecostal gender paradox

Answer 14

-Martin= ‘pentecostal gender paradox’ (patriarchal religion but is attractive to women)

Question 15

explanation of women and pentecostalism

Answer 15

-ascetic and trad labour division
-oppose to machismo in LA where men spend 20-40% of income on alcohol
-men are pressure by pentecostalism to change their ways
-women can use pentecostalism as a means of improving their position

Question 16

women and fundamentalism

Answer 16

-women are responsible for transmitting religious values (feminists argue it makes women powerless and allows abuse)
-fundamentalism emphasised significance of protecting women
-Woodhead & Heelas= women convert to orthodox judaism due to the status in the home it brings them

Question 17

stats for ethnicity and religion

Answer 17

-muslims= 42%
-buddhists= 33%
-jews= 23%
-Hindus= 29%
-Christians= 14%

Question 18

Christianity and ethnicity

Answer 18

-50% of church goers in London are black but less than 20% of Londons population is black
-ethnic minorities are more likely to be religious than white Br

Question 19

Home Office Survey (ethnicity)

Answer 19

-religion less important to the identities of white christians than 9 other factors
-Black Christians placed religion 3rd most important
-Asians placed it 2nd
-Mixed raced placed it 7th

Question 20

3 inter-related reasons why immigrants place greater emphasis on religion

Answer 20

-1)weber= deprived groups tend to be more religious
-2) Durkheim= religion provides shared norms which unite them as a distinctive group
-3) Assimilation= religion reaffirms the ethnic identity of migrants who may be deprived bc of racism and seek unity

Question 21

what other reasons for ethnic participation in religion?

Answer 21

-country of origin= relig practices higher in original home
-cultural defence= cultural identity in a hostile env, preserving one’s culture & coping w/ racism
-Cultural transition= easing the move into a new country by providing support/ community

Question 22

difference between initial immigrants to UK

Answer 22

-afro-caribbean= mainly christian but found church to be racist. Their race made them diff to Br
-Hindu, Sikh, Muslims= no places of worship for them. Religion made them diff to Br

Question 23

Madood

Answer 23

-for asians their identity was intricately connected with their status as an ethnic group (not for afro-car)

Question 24

Afro-caribbean church growth

Answer 24

-establish their own churches
-mostly evangelical movements

Question 25

church growth and decline

Answer 25

-3 churches per week have started since 1988 and half of this growth is ethnic minority churches (esp black)
> due to racism, black led churches have started leading changes in the composition of practicing christians
-3 churches per week have closed (catholic greatest). Growth of inner-city catholic communities due to migration from east europe

Question 26

characteristics of afro-caribbean groups (sims and diffs)

Answer 26

-sim= migrated to uk
-role of religion (diff)= means of coping with pressures of life through joyful prayer, mood affecting qualities and contribution to personal dev
-fam life (diff)= mutual responsibilities etc within fam. Children should decide themselves if they will be religious as adults
-social life (diff)= little importance aside from maintaining a moral/ spiritual outlook. Church gives opportunities to socialise etc

Question 27

characteristics of asian groups (sims and diffs)

Answer 27

-sim= migrated
-role of religion (diff)= control over desires, fulfilling responsibility to family. Prayer is a routine
-fam life (diff)= conformist. Expectation is that the children follow the religion so not let the family down
-social life (diff)= conformity to religious law, affecting marriage, dress, attitudes etc

Question 28

trend of religion and age (Bierley)

Answer 28

-older they are, the more religious (same for new age movements)
-Bierley= 1979 av church goer was 37, in 2005 it was 49. In 2005, 60% of churches had no one ages 15-19 going.

Question 29

Why are older people more likely to be religious? (Voas & Crockett)

Answer 29

-ageing effect= as ppl go through life and have new exp (e.g. have a child which they want to socialise religious) then they themselves may turn to religion. Or once they approach death, they think abt the afterlife
-period effect= people born in a certain time may be more religious. Old ppl go church bc they grew up when religion was popular
-generational effect= decline of religion could mean that each generation is less religious than the previous

Question 30

is there evidence for the reasons why older ppl would be religious?

Answer 30

-Voas and Crockett found no evidence that ppl became less religious overtime. They concluded that it was secularisation making each generation less religious. People were less inclined to socialise their children into religion

Question 31

Modood (ethnicity and age)

Answer 31

-decline in the importance of religion for all of the main ethnic minority groups.
-Even those that thought religion was important wanted to interpret scriptures flexibly

Question 32

stats on ethnic decline of religion depending on age

Answer 32

-attendance amongst under 20s in mainstream Christian churches has halved since 1980
-Buddhists are the group w/ the smallest % of young members
-Brierley= 87% of 10-14 yo thought church was boring

Question 33

Voas and Crockett (reasons for little youth in religion)

Answer 33

-believing without belonging is giving way to no belief at all.
-old= religious
-middle age= spiritual
-young= nothing

Question 34

What are young people interested in? (Rankin)

Answer 34

-spiritual matters
-they assert the term ‘spiritual’ to a variety of meanings.
-They were reluctant to identify their experiences as spiritual, but it was clear that the ‘soul searching’ was the same as what older people call ‘spiritual’

Question 35

Trend of religiosity in young muslims

Answer 35

-There is an emphasis on islamic identity, arising in the wake of injustice.
-72% of Muslims of all ages agreed that 44% of muslims have a strong Islamic identity, and 77% thought this was increasing

Question 36

why are young muslims becoming more religious?

Answer 36

-Archer= strong muslim identity provides an alternative to the gang and drug cultures. Provide positive role models that young muslims can have pride in

Question 37

Radicalisation (Choudhurry)

Answer 37

-due to lack of religious literacy and education
-most vulnerable are those who have been prompted by recent events to explore their religion
-not able to objectively evaluate whether radical groups are accurate of Islam

Question 38

Radicalisation (Akthar)

Answer 38

-after 9/11 etc radical islamic groups were able to exploit the view of a simple dichotomy of oppression which puts blame for all Muslim problems under same banner

Question 39

Radicalisation (Hopkins & Kahani-Hopkins)

Answer 39

-those who’re religiously astute & academically inclined who have been susceptible to radicalisation
-e.g. extremist group Al-Muhajiroun used uni students with blocked social mobility
-they face discrimination which prevents real potential
-perception of discrimination affected sense of belonging to Br

Question 40

trend for young muslim women

Answer 40

-Adapted well to the challenge of maintaining cultural and religious identity, while at the same time becoming well-integrated members members of mainstream society

Question 41

How do young Muslim women have cultural hybridity?

Answer 41

• Knott and Khoker and Samad= young South Asian Muslims draw a distinction between ‘religion’ and ‘culture’. They reject their parents’ conformity to cultural traditions whilst fully embracing their muslim identity

Question 42

Dwyer

Answer 42

-interviewed 35 young Muslim women
-muslim identity is a source used to resist parental opinion
-they use what is included in Muslim texts to challenge attempts to restrict behaviour
-e.g. being a good muslim means they could pursue other interests

Question 43

Woodhead

Answer 43

-young muslim women have developed ‘muslim chic’, asserting their muslim and British identity

Question 44

Classes and types of religious organisations (churches & denominations)

Answer 44

-churches= upper/ upper middle are overrepresented bc of conservative ideas
-Denominations= wallis= respectable organisations therefore appeal to upper/lower mc

Question 45

class and religious organisations (sects)

Answer 45

-most disadvantaged members of society as they require members to give up their previous life so those with much to leave are unlikely to join.
-Gives deprived way of coping e.g. The Black Muslims in the USA.
-relatively deprived clas sof people who were seeking compensation for their lack of spiritual

Question 46

class and religious organisations (client cults and the new age)

Answer 46

-client cults/ nrm= appeal to the already affluent who want to become more successful. Other cults attract the relatively deprived
-new age= appeal to the mc (women). Bruce= those in expressive professions because they believe in self improvement and New Age is linked to this