Gender Differences in Religion

Abstract

In their classic review of empirical research in the social psychology of religion, Argyle and Beit-Hallahmi (1975) concluded that: The differences between men and women in their religious behaviour and beliefs are considerable ... This is one of the most important of the statistical comparisons to be made in this book. (p.71) Two decades later, Francis (1997) confi rmed Argyle and Beit-Hallahmi’s assessment of the existing literature, but also raised serious questions about the consistency and generalizability of the evidence (especially outside the Christian tradition) and about the adequacy of the theoretical explanations offered to account for these fi ndings. The present chapter brings the assessment up to date by examining six themes: contemporary evidence from Christian (or post-Christian) and other religious traditions; classic sociological theories (gender role socialization and structural location); new sociological theories (risk aversion and power control); classic psychological theories (depth psychology and gender differences theories); new psychological theories (gender orientation and personality); and the universal nature of religious gender differences. The present chapter will focus predominantly on the fi ndings of empirical studies exploring the question of religious gender differences generated within a Christian (or post-Christian) context, since, comparatively, empirical studies exploring religious gender differences generated within the context of other religious faiths (e.g., Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, or Sikhism) remain limited. Where the developing literature exists and is relevant, fi ndings from the latter will be included throughout the text.

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