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Women no longer more religious than men

Started by Hydra009, August 04, 2022, 01:37:01 AM

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Hydra009

Specifically, generation-Z women are actually slightly more likely than men of the same age to respond "None" when asked their religion

Previously, until very nearly my age group, women were more likely than men to say that they were religious.  I've often struggled to understand this difference. 

Maybe it's a self-fulfilling prophecy - women are expected to be more religious than men and so they are.  Maybe intellectual curiosity is more frowned upon in women than men. Maybe men are more free to speak their minds and adopt dissenting opinions.  Etc.

I've also considered the possibility that maybe women are more innately religious than men.  Though I've long struggled to come up with a plausible mechanism for this difference.  Also, I didn't see a logical reason as to why women would be any more hardwired for religion than men and dared not make assumptions about innate biological differences leading to religious differences for fear that my base assumptions would be dangerously shaky at best and downright sexist at worst.

Well, thanks to this hard data, I can now safely say that women are not innately any more religious than men.  Rather than being an innate thing, this has all the hallmarks of being a socially-conditioned difference, like smoking tobacco.

This is a truly amazing discovery since learned habits can be unlearned, and what was conditioned can be unconditioned.

If this were not the case, it might prove psychologically impossible for humanity as a whole to break free of religion. 

I take comfort in knowing that some countries boast high numbers of atheists and that figure is either holding steady or increasing.  This proves that large numbers of people can leave the faith and not only not wish to return, but neither do their children or their children's children.

The spell can be broken.  Forever.

drunkenshoe

#1
Cool.

Probably an evolutionary side effect in a few levels? Women are more tend to be anal retentive, and so puritanistic due to taking care of babies. Also pushed by gender role. Of course puritanism is not just something about Abrahamic faith or religions. The vegan extremism, extreme sensitivity and obsessive care for stray animals, 'natural' and 'organic' health care products...etc. Anything marketed as return to nature, get more natural... Probably, also the reason why most of the new age beliefs and life styles marketing are successful among women. 

But then far more forms of behaviour both men and women display today is more puritanistic than recent past, I suppose. I just think one group is more prone to than the other. It's a very interesting concept related to many things we wouldn't imagine, a tricky part of being human and interestingly enough, it's still generally viewed as something religious. As far as I understand, the religious puritanism is the least of it all -I mean a very small part- and some kind of 'result' of this nature-nurture dynamic, not the cause. E: Am I using 'cause' here incorrectly? I'm confused between the terms cause and effect in English.


[If memory serves right, the British anthropologist Mary Douglas has a study on this. But I don't remember, if she had anything to say about a gender tendency in this way.]
"science is not about building a body of known 'facts'. ıt is a method for asking awkward questions and subjecting them to a reality-check, thus avoiding the human tendency to believe whatever makes us feel good." - tp

GSOgymrat

I have no evidence to support this opinion but I suspect women have been more religious than men because being involved with a religious community has social advantages, particularly for women with children. I know my mother loved dropping us off at vacation Bible school in the summer because it gave her a break.

drunkenshoe

Quote from: GSOgymrat on August 04, 2022, 05:43:31 AMI have no evidence to support this opinion but I suspect women have been more religious than men because being involved with a religious community has social advantages, particularly for women with children. I know my mother loved dropping us off at vacation Bible school in the summer because it gave her a break.

LOL, I don't know about the last part, but the social advantages part is a good point and I agree with that. What I was trying to say is closely related to this in nurture sense. We all know that in history, women are linked to the devil and evil with religions. Well, long story short in a nutshell, you're either pious as you can get because then you're respected, protected and selected or you're a harlot. There wasn't much in between for a long time. Being a religious woman has a big advantages in religious societies because of the twisted gender roles.
"science is not about building a body of known 'facts'. ıt is a method for asking awkward questions and subjecting them to a reality-check, thus avoiding the human tendency to believe whatever makes us feel good." - tp

aitm

Personally, I think is kind of a sideward thing. Men who were religious were "assumed" to make better husbands due to their supposed faith prohibiting them from cheating or leaving the family stranded, therefor women would prefer a more religious man in the hopes that offered a more stable safe relationship. Then they were more inclined to nudge the man to keep going to church to help keep him that way. As such women became more devoted to the religion to use that as a way of kind of used the church and it's related pressure to maintain the relationship. If the marriage failed the church offered support and friendship. Women would then more likely tout the benefits of said religion....at least that what I think..🧐
A humans desire to live is exceeded only by their willingness to die for another. Even god cannot equal this magnificent sacrifice. No god has the right to judge them.-first tenant of the Panotheust

Blackleaf

Quote from: aitm on August 05, 2022, 10:01:10 AMPersonally, I think is kind of a sideward thing. Men who were religious were "assumed" to make better husbands due to their supposed faith prohibiting them from cheating or leaving the family stranded, therefor women would prefer a more religious man in the hopes that offered a more stable safe relationship. Then they were more inclined to nudge the man to keep going to church to help keep him that way. As such women became more devoted to the religion to use that as a way of kind of used the church and it's related pressure to maintain the relationship. If the marriage failed the church offered support and friendship. Women would then more likely tout the benefits of said religion....at least that what I think..🧐

Maybe women are finally realizing that "Godly men" are full of shit. Literally, just a few days ago, I saw a post on Facebook from the wife of someone who was a prominent leader at my church, who tought lessons in small group. She was getting a divorce, because he had apparently revealed to her last November that he had been having an affair. You'd think he'd be begging for her forgiveness but HAHAHA no. He was leaving his wife and three kids for this other woman.
"Oh, wearisome condition of humanity,
Born under one law, to another bound;
Vainly begot, and yet forbidden vanity,
Created sick, commanded to be sound."
--Fulke Greville--