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Have you ever wondered why women are more religious than men?
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Jetzt kostenlos anmeldenHave you ever wondered why women are more religious than men?
There have been certain trends among the religious beliefs and participation of different social groups. People of different genders and from different ethnicities and social classes have distinctive attitudes towards religions. Age is also influential in the formation of patterns of religiosity in society.
Individuals' roles and places in society are determined by the social structure of that society. The social structure is built on the shared values, rules and culture of the society, which are usually influenced by the different religions practised by the people. There are various types of religious beliefs, and they are significant in people's lives to various degrees. Religions can influence different social groups of the same society differently. Later, we will look at certain patterns around this.
The social structure of society is usually hierarchical, and religion often plays a role in determining the basis of hierarchy and social status. In the past, Social Stratification was often based on religion; and even today we can witness the influence of this in societies all over the world, claim scholars of sociology.
Religion is often the source of social hierarchy in society. Major religions often hold power over minority religions within the same society, and even within specific religions, there is stratification based on the religious positions people hold or the different branches of the religion people belong to.
Religious stratification took many different forms in Western Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire. Christianity spread hastily, conquering the whole continent and adopting the status of the main religion, which stands to this day. Many countries in Europe have tried to convert all citizens to Christianity, sometimes by reason and preaching, but often by force. Non-Christians were often mistreated, were not allowed to practice their own religious rituals, and were often excluded from certain privileges that Christians were granted.
For example, in the Middle Ages and even during the Renaissance, Jewish people were restricted to a specific area in the Venetian Republic, called the ghetto. They were only allowed to build houses and synagogues there. They were not allowed to participate in society to the same degree that Christian Venetians and Christian foreigners were.
Hindu society in India used to be divided into castes. A person's caste was determined at birth and could not be changed in one's lifetime. It also determined one's social status and occupation. In the highest caste were the Brahmins, who usually fulfilled the roles of religious leaders, intellectuals and teachers. Below them were the Kshatriyas, who were mainly politicians and military personnel. Then came the traders, agricultural workers and shopkeepers, the Vaishyas; and finally the Shudras, who engaged in manual labour. The group in the lowest position, so low that they were considered to be outside the caste hierarchy, were the Dalits. They performed the "least desirable" jobs of society, such as collecting rubbish and cleaning bathrooms.
There used to be serious caste discrimination in Indian society, especially against the Dalits. Since India became independent of British colonial rule in 1947, there have been reforms in Indian society and no discrimination based on caste is legally forbidden. The caste system, however, has not disappeared, it is still very ingrained in Hindu culture and discrimination based on caste is still a common fact of life in India. This is known by accounts of personal experience and of scholarly research of sociology.
In the following sections, we will look at the ways gender, class, ethnicity, and age influence religiosity and analyse the reasons behind these trends within sociology.
A.S. Miller and J.P. Hoffmann (1995) found that women are more interested in religion than men, have stronger commitments to Religious Movements, and attend church services in higher numbers than men.
Steve Bruce’s (2012) research points out that while women are leaving traditional churches in higher numbers than men, there are twice as many women as men in sects and New Age Movements.
There are several explanations in sociology for why women are more religious than men.
The most common sociological explanation for the higher number of female followers of religion comes from the ‘traditional social role theory’. Traditional femininity assumes a caring, nurturing, emotional, passive, and submissive role for women, which were all seen as virtues by many religions, including Christianity. The women who accepted these roles could easily find comfort and support in the traditional religion, more so than men.
According to Bruce, women's caring, emotional, and less aggressive attitudes to life brought them closer to the New Age Movements as well. New Age practices were often based on intuitiveness and healing, which have traditionally been seen as feminine attributes.
Some sociologists argue that women’s direct connection to birth make them more interested in the ultimate questions of life and its meaning, which is one of the main concerns of all religions. As the main caregivers of children, it is thought that women are drawn to religion for advice and guidance in raising them. Women have also been the primary caretakers of the elderly and the sick. This places them in direct connection with death. Most religions provide answers to questions about death and the afterlife, which might help women in dealing with the loss of relatives they cared for, argues Andrew Greely (1992).
Simone de Beauvoir (1949) argued that women turn to religion for compensation for their inferior social status in male-dominated society. She raises the point that this compensation is only an illusion and is harmful in the long run, because it reinforces women’s second-class status.
Fig. 1 - Women have turned to New Age practices, such as meditation, in higher numbers than men because they find them freeing alternatives to traditional religions.
Voas and Watt researched the Church of England and made three observations that are connected to social class (2014).
People attend church in higher numbers in rural areas compared to urban areas.
In the South of England, people attend church in higher numbers compared to the North.
In cities with very good church schools, people attend church in higher numbers, compared to areas with less well-performing religious educational institutions.
They conclude from this that middle-class people attend church in higher numbers in the UK than working-class people. At the same time, Ashworth and Farthing (2007) claim that working-class people are more likely to believe in God.
Caroline Lawes found that atheists usually come from higher educational and professional backgrounds, usually from the middle classes (2009).
Methodist, Pentecostal, and Baptist denominations tend to attract people from the working class more than from the middle class. Followers of New Religious Movements and members of cults are often from middle-class backgrounds.
Max Weber argued that there is a connection between religiosity and poverty (1920). He said that certain sects and religious movements appeal to people of the lower classes because they offer support and comfort in times of financial troubles and social deprivation.
Following Weber, Ken Pryce asserted that the core values of Pentecostalism, e.g. the importance of community, family, and hard work, are all useful guidance in coping with poverty and emotional deprivation, which the lower classes and ethnic minorities often suffer from. No wonder, he said, that British Pentecostalism is more popular among ethnic minorities and the lower classes, which often overlap (1979).
Andrew McKinnon (2017) points out the lack of research on the link between religion and social class. This lack of data makes it impossible to make direct connections between trends, so sociologists have to rely on indirect indicators.
The data that does exist can be misleading. For instance, the fact that middle-class individuals attend church in higher numbers does not necessarily mean that the middle-class is more religious than other classes. People attend church services for several individual reasons other than being devoted believers. They might be under social or family pressure to attend, or they might want to have better chances of getting their children into church schools, which tend to perform well academically.
The UK is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society, where Christians represent the biggest religious group, while Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs are also significant in number.
Most Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs are from ethnic minority backgrounds, while many Christians are Afro-Caribbean. British Muslims are often of Pakistani heritage, while Sikhs and Hindus are usually of Indian heritage.
Tariq Modood et al. (1997) found that the rate of religious participation is higher than average among ethnic minorities in the UK. While less than one-third of Christians said they practised religion regularly, 80% of Muslims and around two-thirds of Hindus, Sikhs, and Jews reported that religion is an important part of their everyday lives.
O’Beirne found that Muslims, Hindus, and Black Christians determine religion to be a significant factor in their identity formation (2004). White Christians rarely attribute any importance to their religion in their identity.
Black Christians are more likely to be active churchgoers than their white counterparts, and they comprise the majority of Pentecostal church membership.
Sociologists argue that there are four main reasons for the higher level of religious involvement among minority ethnic groups.
Steve Bruce claims that religion can be a source of emotional support for those who live in an uncertain, and often hostile, new cultural environment (2002). He adds that individuals of a cultural minority can find a community and a sense of home through religion. These religious communities provide space for the preservation of the minority culture and language in an oppressive, sometimes racist atmosphere.
Black African and Caribbean immigrants moved to Pentecostal churches after they experienced a lack of acceptance and support in white Christian churches in the UK.
Most ethnic minority migrants in Britain came from rather traditional, religious societies; religion has helped these migrants cope with the practical and emotional difficulties of adjusting to a new culture. Religious institutions provide a sense of community and a common cause for all their followers.
According to cultural transition theory, once a community has settled into a new environment, their religiosity gradually decreases. Third and fourth-generation immigrants are more integrated and therefore less likely to be as religious as their parents and grandparents.
Max Weber drew a connection between religiosity, ethnicity, and poverty (1920). He claimed that ethnic minorities usually experienced higher levels of social and economic deprivation; living in poverty eventually turned them towards religion. This is because religious faith can provide guidance and support in difficult circumstances.
Neo-Marxists, led by Otto Maduro, claim that religious institutions can generate revolutionary change for the oppressed in society thanks to their economic independence. Ethnic minorities are often exploited in society; neo-Marxists have observed that their resistance was often based on religious institutions.
The Neo-Marxist explanation applies more to the US than to the UK.
Older people are more likely to be religious than younger people.
Minority religions have a younger base than Christianity in the UK. While only 55% of Christians are younger than 50, 85% of Muslims are aged below 50.
There has been a great decline in Sunday school attendance among young Christians over the past century. In 1900, 55% of the British population attended Sunday school. In 2000, this had come down to 4% of the population (Bruce, 2001).
On the other hand, Eileen Barker researched the world-rejecting sect, the Unification Church (also known as Moonies) and found that most of its members are aged between 18 and 30.
New Age Movements are most popular among middle-aged people.
Voas and Crockett (2005) establish two main reasons for the age trends in sociology.
The theory of the 'ageing effect' highlights the fact that people seem to turn to religion and spirituality as they get older. It seems that as people approach death, they think more about the afterlife, and search more for answers to the ultimate questions of life.
Older people (especially women, who tend to live longer than men) have seen more of their friends and partners dying, which again turns their attention towards the possibility of an afterlife. Religions offer various explanations and answers and generally promote the idea of heaven, which might be comforting for people as they get older and closer to the end of their lives.
The generational effect refers to the idea that, as a result of secularisation, each new generation is less religious than the previous one. The older population, who attend church and are overall more religious, grew up in a society where religion was much more a part of everyday life, Socialisation, and education than it is in the lives of the young now. Bruce adds that Christianity, for instance, has failed to socialise young people into religion in the 21st century (2001).
Sociologists also argue that the rising levels of higher education in society result in economic development, which means less stress on an everyday level. People no longer need religion to provide solace and refuge for their everyday troubles.
There have been certain trends among the religious beliefs and participation of different social groups.
As religion is a crucial part of human society any kind of religious group can be considered a social group.
Individuals' roles and places in society are determined by the social structure of that society. The social structure is built on the shared values, rules and the culture of society, which are usually influenced by the different religions practised by the people. There are various types of religious beliefs, and they are significant in people's lives at various degrees. Religions can influence different social groups of the same society differently.
Sociologists usually distinguish between social groups according to four criteria: gender, race/ethnicity, age, and social class.
Religion is a set of beliefs. Commonly, these beliefs explain the cause and purpose of the universe and include a moral code intended to guide human conduct. Religion does not have a universal definition, but one of its distinguishing features is that it is faith-based.
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SIGNUP SIGNUPFlashcards in Social Groups And Religion74
Start learningWhat is the most common sociological explanation for the higher number of female participants in religion?
Traditional social role theory.
Why are women more religious than men? Give a few sociological reasons for the trend.
Why do women find New religious Movements and New Age practices appealing, according to Brown and Woodhead?
They provide a more 'freeing' alternative to conservative, traditional religious organisations.
What were the three observations that Voas and Watt made when they conducted research on the Church of England in 2014?
They concluded from this that middle-class people attend church in higher numbers in the UK than lower-class people.
Why were lower-class people more religious, according to Max Weber?
Max Weber claimed that there is a connection between religiosity and poverty (1920). He said that certain sects and religious movements appeal to people of the lower classes because they offer support and comfort in times of financial troubles and social deprivation.
What are the difficulties in researching the relationship between class and religion?
The existing data can be misleading. That middle-class individuals attend church in higher numbers does not necessarily mean that the middle-class is more religious than other classes. People attend church services for several individual reasons, apart from belief. They might be under social or family pressure to attend, or they want to have better chances of getting their children into church schools.
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