Risky Business: Assessing Risk Preference Explanations for Gender Differences in Religiosity

Scholars of religion have long known that women are more religious than men, but they disagree about the reasons underlying this difference. Risk preference theory suggests that gender gaps in religiosity are a consequence of men's greater propensity to take risks, and that irreligiosity is ana...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American sociological review 2007-04, Vol.72 (2), p.205-220
Main Authors: Roth, Louise Marie, Kroll, Jeffrey C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Afterlife
Behavior
Beliefs
Bible
Christianity
Drug Use
Females
Gender
Gender differences
Gender differentiation
Gender studies
Hell
High risk
Islam
Judgment
Life after death
Males
Men
Polls & surveys
Preferences
Psychological aspects
Punishment
Religion
Religiosity
Religious Beliefs
Religious practice
Religious studies
Risk
Risk assessment
Risk aversion
Risk behavior
Risk preferences
Sex Differences
Social integration. Social relations. Social participation
Social organization. Social system. Social structure
Social research
Social values
Socialization
Sociology
Sociology of religion
Testosterone
Women
Young men
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Summary:Scholars of religion have long known that women are more religious than men, but they disagree about the reasons underlying this difference. Risk preference theory suggests that gender gaps in religiosity are a consequence of men's greater propensity to take risks, and that irreligiosity is analogous to other high-risk behaviors typically associated with young men. Yet, research using risk preference theory has not effectively distinguished those who perceive a risk to irreligiousness from those who do not. In this article, we evaluate risk preference theory. We differentiate those who believe in an afterlife, who perceive a risk to irreligiousness, from nonbelievers who perceive no risk associated with the judgment after death. Using General Social Survey and World Values Survey data, multivariate models test the effects of gender and belief on religiousness. In most religions and nations the gender gap is larger for those who do not believe in an afterlife than for those who do, contradicting the predictions of risk preference theory. The results clearly demonstrate that the risk preference thesis is not a compelling explanation of women's greater average religiosity.
ISSN:0003-1224
1939-8271
DOI:10.1177/000312240707200204