Opiate of the Masses? Inequality, Religion, and Political Ideology in the United States

Scientific Study of Religion

Hackett

McClendon

2018

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Past research, typically focused on Christians in Christian nations, has found that women tend to be more religious than men. This study uses original nationally representative data (N = 5,601) INTRODUCTIONWomen tend to be more religious than men in the United States 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. This gender gap in religion is so widespread that some religion scholars have argued it is a universal social fact and suggested that women may be biologically predisposed to be more religious (BeitHallahmi 2014;Miller and Stark 2002;Stark 2002). Even scholars who question the biological argument suggest that the gender gap in religion has more empirical support than other commonly accepted "social facts" (Hoffmann 2009). But recent research has begun to suggest religion is a part of our intersectional selves, that it is experienced differently by people in different groups (Edgell 2017;Frost and Edgell 2017; Schnabel 2016;Wilde and Glassman 2016). Therefore, rather than women being universally more religious than men, this common pattern may be the result of particular social processes present among some groups but not others. Acknowledgments:We are grateful to Orit Avishai, Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi, Steven Cohen, Alan Cooperman, Sergio DellaPergola, Sylvia Fishman, Ariela Keysar, Pamela Nadell, Brian Powell, Neha Sahgal, Alex Weinreb, and the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments. All errors and omissions remain our own.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Scientific Study of Religion

Hackett

McClendon

2018

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“…Religion, although less frequently discussed in this literature, is likewise a social structure. It is, among other things, an identity that intersects with other identities, a social institution with particular teachings and cultural norms, and a social good that provides social psychological benefits (Schnabel 2017b).…”

Section: Religion As a Gendered Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

More religious, less dogmatic: Toward a general framework for gender differences in religion

Social Science Research

2018

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Gender gaps in religiosity are among the most consistent findings in the social sciences. The literature, however, has typically under-emphasized gender theory, paid insufficient attention to variation across different contexts, and failed to consider styles of religious expression. This study draws on gender theory, brings religion and political attitudes research into dialogue, and explores potential gender differences in religious dogmatism (e.g., religious absolutism, exclusivity, and intolerance). Using U.S. data from the Baylor Religion Survey and cross-national data from the International Social Survey Programme, I demonstrate that women are generally more religious, but less dogmatic. As expected based on gender theory, however, the patterns I uncover are not universal and vary by societal context (i.e., Christian vs. non-Christian nations). I argue that religion appears to be a gendered sphere like any other in which we express our gendered selves, and that gender gaps in religion are the result not of essential differences, but of context-specific gender regimes, religion regimes, and the simultaneous "doing" of both gender and religion.

“…Non-partisan-typed issues (i.e., those not associated with political orientation) were excluded. 11 The only item on which the coefficient is toward conservatism is confidence in education as an institution, which liberals typically have more confidence in.12 Additional analyses show that religion helps explain why women and racial minorities are not more consistently liberal across individual issues (seeSchnabel 2017).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual Orientation and Social Attitudes

Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World

2018

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Gender, race, and class strongly predict social attitudes and are at the core of social scientific theory and empirical analysis. Sexuality (i.e., sexual orientation), however, is not as central a factor by which we conceptualize and systematize society. This study examines the impact of sexual orientation, gender, race, and education across attitudinal topics covered by the General Social Survey. Sexual orientation is an important part of people’s lives that, as I demonstrate, is a strong and exceptionally consistent predictor of social attitudes across issues regardless of whether it is measured with partnering behavior or self-identification. When sexual behavior and identity differ, however, identity is more influential. This pattern lends support to a marginalized identity explanation for why sexual minorities are consistently liberal. I conclude that future work should pay more attention to sexuality as a core factor in social scientific theory and empirical analysis.