www.expressindia.com - Weather | Horoscope | Stocks | RSS
expressindia web city
HomeBlogsCricketAstrologyShopping TendersClassifieds Opinions Hotels Vacation Rentals
Sign In / Register | Archive
Expressindia » Story

Women more religious-minded than men

Font Size

ANI

Posted: Mar 02, 2009 at 1610 hrs IST
Women religious

Washington Women pray more often than men, are more likely to believe in God, and are more religious than men in a variety of other ways, according to a new study.

Analysts say that the reasons could range from traditional mothering duties to the tendency of men to take risks, reports Live Science.

The findings come from a fresh review of data that was collected in a 2007 survey and initially released last year by the Pew Research Centre.

The survey involved interviews with more than 35,000 US adults by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

George H Gallup, Jr, in an analysis for the Gallup polling organization back in 2002, wrote that the differences in religiosity between men and women have been shown consistently across the previous seven decades of polls.

"A mountain of Gallup survey data attests to the idea that women are more religious than men, hold their beliefs more firmly, practice their faith more consistently, and work more vigorously for the congregation," Gallup wrote.

Gallup said that among the reasons women tend to be more religious are that mothers have tended to spend more time raising children, which often means overseeing their involvement in church activities.

Though two-income households are more common today, in the past women often had more flexible daily schedules, permitting more church involvement during the week.

Women tend to be more open about sharing personal problems and are more relational than men.

Other Gallup research shows a higher proportion of women than men say they have a ‘best friend’ in their congregation.

Gallup also said, "More so than men, women lean toward an empirical [depending on experience or observation] rather than a rational basis for faith."

Rodney Stark, a professor of sociology and comparative religion at the University of Washington, gave another reason for why are men less religious.

"Studies of biochemistry imply that both male irreligiousness and male lawlessness are rooted in the fact that far more males than females have an underdeveloped ability to inhibit their impulses, especially those involving immediate gratification and thrills," Stark said in a 2002 paper in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion.

Stark said that the upshot is that some men are short-sighted and don't think ahead and so “going to prison or going to hell just doesn't matter to these men.”

Discuss this story on expressindia forums
Post Comments
Name* Email ID*
Subject* Country*
Message*
Characters remaining
 
TERMS OF USE: The views, opinions and comments posted are your, and are not endorsed by this website. You shall be solely responsible for the comment posted here. The website reserves the right to delete, reject, or otherwise remove any views, opinions and comments posted or part thereof. You shall ensure that the comment is not inflammatory, abusive, derogatory, defamatory &/or obscene, or contain pornographic matter and/or does not constitute hate mail, or violate privacy of any person (s) or breach confidentiality or otherwise is illegal, immoral or contrary to public policy. Nor should it contain anything infringing copyright &/or intellectual property rights of any person(s).
I agree to the terms of use.
Women more religious-minded than men by magadevayar on 02 Mar 2009

it is true

Latest News

Business

Showbiz

Sports

India hopes Headley’s guilty plea will get Pakistan to act

Togadia on dharna after being barred from entering Kandhamal

Centre wants death penalty for hijackers

'Devil' Headley nauseates Mahesh Bhatt’s son

RBI hikes rates to battle inflation, loans set to be costlier in 3-6 months

India, US facing common enemy in al Qaeda: US envoy

India to have world's most educated people by 2030: Sibal

More
Featured Services
© 2010 The Indian Express Limited. All rights reserved
The Indian Express Group | Advertise With Us | Privacy Policy | Feedback | Work With Us | Site Map