18. Religiosity & Social Groups

• Gender & religiosity

  brierly - female churchgoers outnumber men by almost half a million

  more women (54%) say they have a religion than men (41%)

  ferguson + hussey - in all major faiths except sikhism women are more likely to practice their religion
• What are 3 reasons for women being more religious?

  (Miller & Hoffman)

  1. risk - women are socialised to be less risk-taking so are less likely to not be religious and risk being condemned to hell if religion is right

  2. socialisation - women are socialised to be more passive and caring, which are qualities highly valued within religion

  3. roles - women are more likely to work part-time due to gender roles so have more time to participate in religious activities
• Reasons for gender differences - caring roles

  davie - women are closer to brith and death through childbirth and caring for elderly relatives, which brings them closer to ultimate questions about the meaning of life

  fits with gender differences in the perception of god - men view god as one of power and control whereas women view god as loving and forgiving
• reasons for gender differences - paid work

  bruce - women's religiosity links to their lower involvement in paid work

  rationalisation has driven religion out of male-dominated spheres of work and confined it to the private sphere of home and family life - where women hold more responsibility
• What did ___ say about women & new age movements?

  (Heelas & Woodhead)

  80% of participants in the holistic mileu were female, potentially because movements often celebrate healing which raise women's self-confidence
• What did ___ say about women's attraction to new age religion by class?

  (Bruce)

  middle class - attracted to new age beliefs that emphasise personal autonomy and self development

  working class - attracted to ideas that grant them a more passive role that link to an all-powerful god and fatalism

  links to sugarman's working class subcultures
• How can Bruce's idea of gender & class be criticised?

  New age religions attract more marginalised groups (Wallis)
• Why are women becoming less religious?

  can be explained by women's movement into paid work and rejection of traditional gender roles

  the increase in women participating in the new age is overall unable to compensate for this
• Ethnicity & religion


  brierley - black people are twice as likely to attend church as white people BUT

  modood - there is a decline of religious importance across all ethnic groups, particularly among the second generation
• Religion & immigration (Cultural Defence)

  (Bruce)

  in situations of immigration religion offers a sense of support and identity in an unfamiliar and hostile environment
• What did ___ say about why MEGs are more religious? (3)

  (Bird)

  1. Many members of MEGs come from countries with higher levels of religiosity e.g. Pakistan

  2. Religion is important for MEGs for a sense of community

  3. Socialisation can have strong pressure to remain religious (especially in Asian groups)
• What are the trend of age & religiosity?

  in general, the older a person is the more likely they are to attend religious services

  the only exception to this is under 15s because they have less choice and are made to go by their parents
• What is a statistic about age & religiosity?

  (Brierley)

  In 2005, nearly 60% of churches had no attendees between 15-19 years old
• Reasons for age differences

  the ageing effect - people turn to religion as they get older eg. heelas + woodhead - people come more interested in spirituality as they get closer to death and feel more need for comfort about the insecurity of afterlife

  the cohort effect - people born during a particular period eg. world war two may be more likely to be religious because of the experience

  secularisation - as religion loses importance each generation is less religious
• Class & religiosity

  No real figures but sects more likely to attract working class as they have less to give up

  Denominations & cults usually attract middle class as they're slightly anti establishment but still successful