Finding Additional Predicators for Female Religiosity

This topic submitted by Meghan Buckner and Chris Koenig (koenigca@muohio.edu) at 11:45 AM on 4/30/02. Additions were last made on Tuesday, April 30, 2002. Section: Myers.

By Meghan Buckner and Chris Koenig

Natural Systems II

Dr. Chris Myers

April 30th. 2002

Abstract:

This research study furthers a previous study conducted in which the researchers explored the correlation between gender, anxiety, and religious participation. By surveying 189 male and female individuals in the Oxford and surrounding areas, we reconfirmed the theory that females are more religious. In addition there was not significance found between the amount of females that work compared to the amount of males that work. We excluded indications of race and class in order to obtain a larger surveyed population. Factors such as educational background, nationality, and age should be considered in further research in an attempt to measure all indications for cause.

Introduction:

Throughout history, church and religion have played an important role in shaping the way political structures are erected, why wars are fought, and/or how the dead are cared for. We see religious sediments sprawled across our currency, schools, and in our pledge of allegiance. In addition, concepts of religion have formed social hierarchies and continued to exist throughout the evolution of humans as a species. Whether we are in fact religious or not, religion influences our society significantly. Thus, we have chosen a research study that is a step forward in distinguishing the reasons many individuals participate in religious practices. We would like to state, though, that our research is purely objective and does not account for those individuals who have a strong belief.

We have conducted a study that furthers progress on a previous study done by students, Kristen McCartney and Kate Hetrick, in last yearÕs Nature of Human Nature course. Their project hypothesized that women were more religious than men and this was due to a higher anxiety level. They found this to be true after distributing surveys to a student population. The problem we saw with this project and the reason it was decided to take the study a step further was because we thought their survey was too limited and that womenÕs religiosity could be attributed to other factors. Continuing wth a social focus was decided upon after much discussion and research. The final hypothesis and topic for study is the probability that women are more religious (have a higher religious participation rate) due to participation in the work force.

Before attempting this research we gathered research and information related to race and class and how these factored into why women were more religious. After contemplating how we would survey for these factors, we rejected that idea. It was concluded that there were too many questions that would need to be asked in order to cover all the variables that are particular to a case study that involves race and class. For this reason, mainly, it was chosen to research and study work force participation specifically as a main factor in womenÕs religiosity.

Through our research we hoped to find a conclusion that there is significant relationship between those who are religious and those who are involved in the work force. Males and females will be surveyed in order to reconfirm that women are in fact more religious and less involved in the workforce. It will also inquire how religious the individuals are based on their yearly attendance, and the degree of their involvement in the work force based on full-time, part-time, and non-work status.

Literature Review:

ÒWomen are more frequent and regular churchgoers than menÉÓ (Wilson 32). This fact is repeatedly referred to in various research studies establishing that women are in fact more religious than men. We attempt to questionÉWhy the discrepancy? Why are women found to have a higher attendance in religious activities? In order to conduct a thorough research study we have explored various theories that attempt to explain this phenomenon. Among the various studies explored, we have chosen three to focus on. We will outline each theory and discuss its correlation and/or causation to the gender differences in religious attendance.

In Sociobiology the emphasis is placed on genetic and biological causes for human behavior. E.O. Wilson, the founding father of Sociobiology, discussed in his book, Sociobiology: The New Synthesis, how Sociobiology accounts for religious humans, ÒReligious practices that consistently enhance survival and procreation of the practitioners will propagate the physiological controls that favor acquisition of the practices during single lifetimes. The genes that prescribe the controls will also be favored.Ó (Wilson 177) In other words, religion has rewarded and protected genes that submit to religion. Religious individuals are protected under the safe haven of religion and therefore have a more apt ability to procreate. In addition to WilsonÕs statement we encountered an interesting study conducted in Alameda County in California. This study showsÉ Òisolation and the lack of social and community ties opened the door to illness and an early demise.Ó (Bloom 61) For example in another study, Òmen who had lost wives to breast cancer had experienced a sharp drop in the activity of their immune system one to two months after the loss.Ó (Bloom 61) This illustrates the importance of social interaction in the physical and mental health of humans. It also helps support WilsonÕs idea that religion, which one would experience more social interactions through, would foster longer lives and thus the increased potential for proliferation of religious genes. Although this theory related well to class materials and the concepts discussed, we felt it was an inadequate theory for out specific study. Furthermore, this theory did not recognize the gender differences in religious participation, which is vital to our study.

Whereas Sociobiology did not question gender differences and the reasoning behind it, Kristin McCartney and Kate Hetrick, formulated an applicable hypothesis. They state their theory as such, ÒThe hypothesis of our research is that sex, not cultural background, is the strongest predictor of religiosity. Furthermore, we believe that this might be because biologically women are more vulnerable and have more reason for anxiety than men.Ó After conducting their research they found the following: females are more involved in religious activities and had a higher significance of anxiety than men. Their findings, though, did not assert causation but rather a correlation between gender and religiosity. After examining their hypothesis, research, and results, we concluded that there might be additional factors worth considering.

The Labor Force Participation Theory is the third concept we have to chosen to evaluate in depth. ÒThe general hypothesis stipulates that women are more likely to be religious than men due to their lower levels of labor force participationÓ (Gee). We also have chosen to research this theory in order to calculate its validity. This theory is broken into four specific reasons why the labor force influences gender differences in religious participation. It is based on the conclusion that women are more religious than man and thus structures itÕs focus accordingly. The four aspects are:

Òthat women seek social support from religion to alleviate the greater isolation they experience as a consequence from not benefiting from the social contacts of the workplace, that women seek comfort from religion to compensate from not benefiting from the more socially valued role of the wage earner, women are more likely than men to avoid the conflicts between the competitiveness of the work place and the essence of Christian values which in turn leads to a greater distance from the churches, and the lower commitment to the workplace releases more time for women to devote to the church.Ó (Francis 84)

From these four sub-categories, we have chosen only three that we thought were relevant for interpreting and conducting a study. The third theory was dismissed because of the difficulty of formulating a sound inquiry through surveys.

We have chosen to analyze work force participation specifically because we found a lack of research pertaining to this topic, ÒAlthough the labor force explanation for gender differences in religiosity has an inherent plausibility, it has been empirically tested rarely.Ó (Gee) We reckoned that this theory was worthy of an investigation.

One of the principles included into the four aforementioned causes is that women lack social interaction due to their lower levels of work force participation. Humans in general are social beings, ÒOur need for each other is not only built into the foundation of our biological structure it is also the cornerstone of our psyche. Humans are so uncontrollably social that when we are wondering around at home where no one can see us, we talk to ourselves.Ó (Bloom 63) It seemed to us that this theory contains substance due to the inherent urge to be social. Therefore we researched on the assumption that females would seek an alternative form of social interaction due to a lack from the work environment.

Although there is a lack of research related to this theory, the research pool is not completely void. A research study conducted in Canada hypothesized that ÒwomenÕs higher level of church attendance is the result of their workplace involvement.Ó (Gee) After conducting their research they found the following, ÒAmong full time workers, there is no significant difference between men and women in church attendance. However, among part time workers and non-workers, women are significantly more likely to be regular church attendees than men.Ó (Gee) It seems that their hypothesis was confirmed. A study, then, that analyzes the work force participation theory in the United States would be intriguing and worthwhile.

Materials and Methods:

In order to conduct our research 200 individuals were surveyed in the Butler County area, yet only 189 surveys were included due to participant error. The Miami student population was disregarded in an attempt to look for individuals that had the practical opportunity to participate in the workforce. We visited churches, malls, a bowling alley, restaurants, convenient stores, and hotels. By spreading our research over many sample groups we hoped to grasp a more diverse population. We also tried to submit a survey that gathered a balance of both genders in order not to skew the results.

A sample of the survey given out to our research population is included in the appendix. Our survey included a total of twelve questions that ranged from age and gender to workforce and religious involvement. Questions were also included that inquired about isolation, support, and anxiety factors. The anxiety questions were used due to the previous study mentioned previously. The same ranges of questions regarding religious participation taken from the previous survey were used in an attempt to further their study. Lastly subjective questions regarding personal reasons for participation were added in attempt to gain possible contributing factors that could be studied in future projects. In order to finalize our survey, an example was submitted to our instructor for approval. He then provided feedback, which was taken into serious consideration with the final draft. The surveys were made as unbiased as possible in order to create and produce an impartial study. Furthermore, the various areas that we surveyed and the note at the top of the survey were both meant to control skewed results.

Interpretations of our results were conducted as follows: Gender and work status are self explanatory, with distinct options for each question. For religiosity, people who went to religious services several times a week up to more than once a week were "High," people who attended about once a month were "Medium," and those who attended once a year or never were "Low."

Results:

After conducting our research and surveying we entered the data compiled from the surveys into Stat-view. The program was used in order to analyze our data and conclude whether it was significant according to our population. We ran three Chi-Square tests as opposed to T-tests due to the fact that we categorized our data rather than entering it as real numbers. The first test we ran was comparing gender and work. This test was run to determine whether women were less participatory in the work force than men. The results indicated that there is a 37.71% probability that our data was the result of chance. Therefore we cannot conclude that women work less than men according to our research, yet it was assumed at the beginning of our research according to previous studies. The next data test we ran consisted of results taken in respect to gender and church attendance. The data indicated a significant p-value of .0083. Therefore we can make the assertion that there is a probable relationship between gender and church attendance. Although it cannot be proven from this single test it discounts the results occurred due to chance alone. The last test we ran took results from workforce participation and church attendance. This test resulted in a .0016 Chi-Square p-value. Thus it is can be concluded that there is a relationship between church attendance and workforce participation. Furthermore, when results were analyzed for specifically females, a significant p-value of .0058 was found. This emphasizes that the results were dependent upon gender, yet not in the way we hypothesized. The highest attendance of females was from full-time workers, which is the opposite of our assumption.

From this data we conclude that church attendance is dependent upon both work force participation and gender. Although there is a significant dependence shown through the Stat-view tables, the observed results do not specifically support our hypothesis. Our data shows that there are more women working full time than men and that more men are non-employed, yet our hypothesis rested on the fact that women were less likely to work which would in turn lead to a higher church attendance.

In addition to questions relating to gender, workforce, and church attendance, our survey attempted to find a correlation between work environment and church attendance. This was similar to the question regarding anxiety in the previous survey. Our survey was split into two parts: one for employed and one for non-employed. Many surveyors chose to discount the given instructions and fill out the contributing factors for workforce even though they were unemployed. This, thus, gave us inconclusive results and we could not run a reliable data test for many of the surveys. We were saddened by this result because as a supplement to our hypothesis we wished to include possible reasons why unemployed women attend church.

Included in the appendix are six graphs in addition to the results sections. Graphs 1-3 are illustrating the numbers from our surveys regarding church participation by workforce involvement and gender. The three graphs are split into three categories: high, medium, and low church attendance. We derived these categories directly from question number nine: Participation in Religion. If an individual checked either Ònever attendÓ or Òattend about once a yearÓ they were included in the low category. If an individual checked Òattend several times a yearÓ they were included in the medium attendance category. And finally if an individual checked Òattend several times a monthÓ or Òattend every weekÓ they were included in the high category.
Graphs 4-6 are simple pie graphs that show the distribution of those surveyed. They are categorized by gender, workforce participation, and church attendance.

In addition to graphs we have included the three result tables that were received after entering our data into Stat-view. This is provided to give our readers that opportunity to view our sample data and for those statistic savvy, it will provide some interesting figures.

Conclusion:

As explained in the Materials and Methods section, we traveled to many locations to gather our surveys hoping for a more diverse population. Yet, in retrospect we observed that our surveys were submitted to more employees that were currently working, rather than an even number. The method was random therefore unknown during the process. If we had avoided the amount of working people received it may have provided more reliable results. This is figured to be the reason we received more employed full time women than expected.

Our surveys were also submitted to churches around Oxford, attempting to relieve the possibilities of known workers. After consulting a member of the church we gained permission to distribute them within the congregation. The individual failed to call and return surveys thus contributing to a lack of applicable results. We received no phone call and traveled back to the church yet no one was available. It is felt that if we had received these surveys that may have included some valuable influence to our findings.

Although we could not come to reasonable conclusions based on whether women feel more isolated or less appreciated, we still feel that we are able to make the claim that gender does play a factor in determining whether someone is religious or not. The three factors that we wished to survey were also difficult to word in a survey and may have confused some therefore may be candidates for revision. Other contributing factors such as specific reasoning for beliefs could be considered in future research. We attempted to find such results in asking for an explanation for their participation. These suggest such factors as parental and/or familial religious morals and that emphasis on the individual.

If this project were to be conducted again, the following is suggested. First, a broader population and higher numbers would be recommended for a more valid survey. Secondly, a survey that is easier to read and fill out would benefit the population being surveyed and possibly result in more useful data. Though we worked thoroughly with our survey questions we feel that a more comprehensive survey would have led us to more conclusive results. We believe that we may have tried to gain too much information in one survey. Fourth, as stated before, we could have attempted to submit surveys to many who were not presently working or on their lunch break at the time we gave them our survey. The standardized population was both a strength and weakness of our study. It would be interesting to strive in finding more religious individuals or those from a wide variety of backgrounds. We believe this could have skewed the results. Although there were many items we would amend, we feel our survey was still valuable and worthwhile. There was little previous research to base our own work on, and had trouble establishing a strong connection to the course. Finally, we want to emphasize the restricted capabilities of our study. While we are able to conclude basic concepts from our data there is not enough concrete proof to legitimately state what the cause of a higher rate of female religious participation is.

References

Bloom, Howard. 1995. The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition into the Forces of
History. New York, NY: The Atlantic Monthly Press.

Bowker, John. 1995. Is God a Virus? Genes, Culture and Religion. London: The Society
for Promoting Christian Knowledge.

Burnham, Terry & Phelan, Jay. 2000. Mean Genes: From Sex to Money to Food; Taming
our Primal Instincts. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Perseus Publishing.

Francis, Leslie J. 1997. ÒThe Psychology of Gender Differences in Religion: A Review of
Empirical ResearchÓ, Religion. Vol. 27, 81-96. Great Britain: Academic Press Limited.

Friedman, Murray & Isserman, Nancy. 1998. The Tribal Basis of American Life: Racial
Religious, and Ethnic Groups in Conflict. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers.

Gee, Ellen M. 1991. ÒGender Differences in Church Attendance in Canada: The Role of
Labor Force ParticipationÓ, Review of Religious Research. Vol. 32, No. 3. Washington, DC: Religious Research Association.

Kahoe, Richard D. 1985. ÒSocial Science of Gender Differences: Ideological
BattlegroundÓ, Religious Studies Review. Vol. 11, No. 3. Council on the Study of Religion.

Kwilecki, Susan. 1999. Becoming Religious: Understanding Devotion to the Unseen.
Cranbury,NJ: Associated University Presses, Inc.

Mirola, William A. 1999. ÒA Refuge for Some: Gender Differences in the Relationship
Between Religious Involvement and DepressionÓ, Sociology of Religion. Vol. 60, No. 4. Association for the Sociology of Religion.

Wilson, John. 1978. Religion in American Society: The Effective Presence. Englewood
Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

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