The Usefulness of Data in the Study of the Feminisation and Re-Masculinisation of Religion in Spain (1880-1930)

Abstract

The feminisation of religion is a category used for organizing the knowledge on sexual difference in modern imaginary. Concerning Spain at the turn of the twentieth century, the analysis of data on the participation of men and women in pious activities can serve to enrich the study of the feminisation and re-masculinisation of religion. First, it allows us to assess that the pious practices related to the most significant dates in the Catholic calendar was, regularly, similar for both sexes. Moreover, the use of data can test the hypothesis that sometimes there existed a notion of feminisation of religion even in a context where there was no substantial difference de facto between sexes concerning religious practice. This phenomenon could be explained by such a notion being imported from places where such a trend was indeed underway. I do not argue for a return to the ways and methods typical of social history in its heyday; what I strive for is to engage with the current lines of research on the feminisation and re-masculinisation of religion and carry out a nuanced analysis of the available data that would enrich or modify the prevailing interpretation of both phenomena.