A Power‐Control Theory of Gender and Religiosity

Abstract

The fact that women are more religious than men is one of the most consistent findings in the sociology of religion. Miller and Stark (2002) propose that a gender difference in riskpreference of physiological origin might explain this phenomenon. While acknowledging the utility of their risk-preference mechanism, we believe that their assumption regarding the genesis of this difference is a premature concession to biology. Returning to Miller's original paper on gender, risk, and religiosity (Miller and Hoffmann 1995), we draw on power-control theory (PCT), developed in the work of John Hagan and colleagues, to introduce a plausible socialization account for these differences. PCT attributes the origins of gender differences in risk-preference to class-based differences in the socialization of children, with women raised in more patriarchal families-as indexed by the mother's class position-more likely to be riskaverse than men raised in the same type of households and women raised in more egalitarian households. If religiosity and risk-aversion are related, then the gender difference in religiosity should be strongest among those raised by women of low socioeconomic status. We evaluate these claims using data from the General Social Survey. The results are consistent with a socialization explanation: women raised by high-SES mothers are less religious than women raised by low education mothers, but mother's socioeconomic status has little effect on men's chances of being irreligious and father's socioeconomic status has a negligible effect on the gender difference in religiosity.2

The Gender Pray Gap: Wage Labor and the Religiosity of High-Earning Women and Men

“…Various theories have been used to explain gender differences in religiosity: for example, biology-based risk preferences (Miller and Stark 2002;Stark 2002), socialization-based risk preferences (Collett and Lizardo 2009), vulnerability (Norris and Inglehart 2011;Walter and Davie 1998), psychology (Beit-hallahmi 1997;Francis 1997;Freese and Montgomery 2007;Thompson 1991), and social structure and status (Luckmann 1967;de Vaus and McAllister 1987). The key question, however, has been whether the differences are universal or contingent on social context.…”

“…Therefore, this article explores how gender differences vary by level of earned income-a gendered social location tied to status and social experiences-to consider not just how women and men differ but also how women differ from women and how men differ from men. Extending previous social location and class arguments (Chadwick and Garrett 1995;Collett and Lizardo 2009;hertel 1988;Luckmann 1967;de Vaus and McAllister 1987), this study examines whether gender differences are attenuated among elite earners. By focusing on and comparing elites, I answer the call by hastings and Lindsay (2013) to test whether nationally representative data validates their expectation that gender differences in religiosity are smaller among American elites.…”

Where Men Appear More Religious Than Women: Turning a Gender Lens on Religion in Israel

“…Similarly, some research on gender and religion has begun to suggest that gaps are not universal, with studies finding smaller gaps among high earners (Hastings and Lindsay 2013;Schnabel 2016), liberals (Baker and Whitehead 2016), and those raised in less patriarchal households (Collett and Lizardo 2009). Some research has even suggested that the size of gender gaps will vary by religious group, with the largest and most consistent gaps among Christians (Hackett et al 2016;Schnabel 2015a).…”

“…Women tend to be more religious than men in the U.S. and in many places around the world (Baker and Whitehead 2016;Collett and Lizardo 2009;Freese and Montgomery 2007;Roth and Kroll 2007;Schnabel 2016;Sullins 2006). For example, they tend to say religion is more important in their lives, pray more often, and attend religious services more frequently.…”

Espousing Apostasy and Feminism? Older and Younger British Female Apostates Compared

“…Moreover, these women had possibly been exposed to gender egalitarian practices in the home, too, as they grew up. Collett and Lizardo (2009) argue, from their research on socialisation practices, that the religiosity gap among brothers and sisters more likely to be exposed to gender egalitarian values and socialisation practices while growing up is smaller than that which exists among those more likely to have been raised according to more traditional gender scripts. Their research also demonstrates that the effect of having been exposed to genderegalitarian values narrows the gender gap by rendering women exposed to these values less religious than other women and closer to men in their religious behaviour and beliefs.…”