The Baylor Survey of Religion confirmed a long held claim: women are more religious (see Rodney Stark, What Americans Really Believe
69% vs. 57% believe in God
Men are twice as likely to be atheists.
77% vs. 68% believe Jesus is the Son of God.
Weekly church attendance: 40% vs. 31%
Prays at least once a day: 57% vs. 40%.
Reads the Bible weekly: 32% vs. 24%.
HIgh on religious experience index: 31% vs. 22%
This is true in the world data; women are more religious in the whole world. Same true in non-religious cultures and in Islamic countries. This gender difference is universal.
Socialization? Nope.
Career vs. homemaker women? Same.
Sex-role socialization? Nope.
In fact, gender difference in religiousness is greater in less traditional societies.
What does this say about the so-called feminization of the Church? Or about the attempts to find more males? Or about making men more masculine?
Alan Miller famously connected lack of male religiousness to risk-taking stats; that is, men are more risky and reckless and so they are more “rebellious” when it comes to religion. (How’s that for a sentence with Rs?) Miller discovered that risk takers and irreligiousness were correlated for both men and women.
But men are much more likely to be risk takers.
So what makes men more risky? Some theorize that it has to do with group survival and that males who were risky have been needed.
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