Gender and religiousness: Can socialization explanations be saved?

It has long been assumed in sociology that gender differences in religiousness are a product of differential socialization. Yet, there is little empirical support for this assumption. To address this gap in the literature, this study draws on an extensive investigation of the relationship between di...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American journal of sociology 2002-05, Vol.107 (6), p.1399-1423
Main Authors: MILLER, Alan S, STARK, Rodney
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attitudes
Behavior
Drug Use
Females
Gender
Gender differences
Gender differentiation
Gender roles
Hypotheses
Individual Differences
Literature reviews
Males
Preferences
Religion
Religiosity
Religious Behavior
Religious behaviour
Religious Beliefs
Research Tools
Sex Differences
Sex Role Attitudes
Sex roles
Social surveys
Socialization
Sociology
Sociology of religion
Women
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Summary:It has long been assumed in sociology that gender differences in religiousness are a product of differential socialization. Yet, there is little empirical support for this assumption. To address this gap in the literature, this study draws on an extensive investigation of the relationship between differential socialization and differential religiousness. Using the American General Social Surveys and the World Values Survey, Miller and Stark analyze the relationship between traditional gender attitudes and gender differences in religious beliefs and behavior. Surprisingly, these data show no relationship between the two. Therefore, a new set of hypotheses based on an alternative model involving risk preference is proposed. Results strongly support this new approach. Women are more religious than men to the extent that being irreligious constitutes risk-taking behavior. This model is able to predict differential religiousness in a wide variety of religious and cultural settings. Implications of these findings are discussed.
ISSN:0002-9602
1537-5390
DOI:10.1086/342557