Topic 1 (Part 2) - Organisations, Movements, and Members Flashcards
Gender statistics (religious beliefs) - Women
- God = 84%
- Sin = 72%
- Evil = 76%
- The Devil = 42%
- Afterlife = 57%
Gender statistics (religious beliefs) - Men
- God = 75%
- Sin = 66%
- Evil = 58%
- The Devil = 32%
- Afterlife = 39%
Religiosity - DAVIE
Argues there are gender differences in terms of religious practise, belief, self-identification, private prayer:
- Most Church goers are female
- 55% women compared with 44% men say they have a religion
- 38% women compared with 26% men say religion is important to them
- Fewer women against men say they are atheists
- Women more likely to practice their religion (except Sikhs)
Explaining religiosity
1 Risk
2 Socialisation
3 Gender roles
- DAVIE argues women are closer to birth and death (child bearing and caring for ageing relatives) = brings them closer to ultimate questions = links to the psychological function MALINOWSKI argues religion takes
Explaining religiosity - Risk
- By not being religious you are risking religion being right and being condemned to hell
- Men are more likely to engage in risk taking behaviour, take the risk and not be religious
Explaining religiosity - Socialisation
- Women are more religious as they are socialised into being more passive, obedient, and caring = required by most religions
- MILLER and HOFFMAN note that men who have these traits are also more religious
Explaining religiosity - Gender roles
- Women are more likely to work part-time or be carers so have more time to participate in religious activities
- GREELEY argues women are more likely to take care of the family so responsible for the ultimate welfare, attracted to the Church (monopoly of truth)
Explaining religiosity - Paid work
- BRUCE women are mire religious as they are less involved in paid work
A03 - Explaining religiosity (BRUCE)
- BROWN argues from the 1960s onwards women have moved into the public sphere of work and become less religious, the decline of female piety
Explaining religiosity - Women and the new age
- HEELAS and WOODHEAD claim women are far more likely to be involved in New Age movements due the their expressive nature
- Women wish to feel whereas men wish to achieve
- BROWN = women are more independent
- Women joining public sphere creates conflict between that and private sphere role
- H&W = NAMs = focus on third sphere (inner self) = gives anonymity in a patriarchal society
- BRUCE middle class women to anonymity and control whereas working class attracted to passive roles
Women, compensators, and sects
- BRUCE 2x as many women in sects than men
- STARK and BAINBRIDGE argue people engage in sects because they offer compensation for areas of deprivation likely to be experienced by women (organismic, ethnical, and economic deprivation)
Organismic deprivation
- Life pressures stemming from the family, and childbearing, women are more likely to suffer from illness and therefore turn to sects for healing
Ethical deprivation
- Women are morally conservative, and therefore more likely to see the world in moral decline so attracted to sects that share this view
Economic deprivation
- Women are more likely to suffer from relative poverty, and therefore are likely to turn to sects that attract the poor
A03 - Women, compensators, and sects
- The concept of women being more likely to suffer from poverty links to marxism
- Women may see their suffering as necessary and justifying their other worldly benefits
- Religion becomes an apparatus (ALTHUSSER)
