gender and religion

• Social research into levels of religious belief shows that in general women are more religious and are more likely to regularly practice religion than males
• In the UK over half a million more females than males attended church in the early 21st century
• 83.4% of women professed to have faith compared to just 79.4% of males based on research published in 2016
• 48% of women believed in a god compared to just 38% of males in a recent UK poll
• Across all religious groups with the exception of Sikhs, more females than males regularly practice religious beliefs
• Reasons why women are more religious than males

  • Women are more risk averse than males and so are likely to not take risks with their beliefs in religion
  • Males take more risks and are less likely to seek out the security of religious belief
  • The process of gender socialisation sees women take on the role of socialising children into society's norms and values, including church attendance
  • The feminisation of religion with discussion of caring and nurturing others falls into the female domain
  • Women's lower levels in paid employment means they are able to organise their lives more effectively around involvement with religious events
• Religious involvement has become part of women's 'triple shift' forming part of their emotional labour
• Bruce's argument on why women are more religious

  • Women's lower levels of involvement in paid labour gave them more time to be involved in church activities
  • Men had undergone the process of secularization more rapidly as a result of increased rationality and scientific thinking in the workplace, leading them to question the role of religion in society
• The increased secularization of women as the level of employment has increased, what Brown referred to as the 'decline of female piety'
• Feminist arguments on why women are more religious

  • Religion is a form of social control that is exercised over women
  • There is greater social pressure on women to maintain an image of being a good wife, mother and Christian
  • Women are expected to take on the role of moral guardian of the family, with the responsibility of maintaining a respectable veneer for the family placed upon them
• Rationalization has led to secularization, but women were left isolated from these changes through expectations of looking after the family and not working
• Religious organizations have become feminized, with discussion of caring and nurturing of others falling into the feminine domain, making males less likely to attend
• Measuring an individual's level of faith is difficult, as attendance is only one aspect of believing
• The decline in women's involvement in organized religion correlates with their increased involvement in both the public and private spheres, with less stigma on not having beliefs and more involvement in paid employment
• Women's participation in religion is also falling, and this disenchantment with religion is compensated for by increased involvement in new age movements as women seek to escape patriarchal religions and opt for more holistic practices and self-care and empowerment