Researchers have demonstrated that women participate more frequently than men in religious activities, and some have argued the differences may be attributable to gender orientation (feminine or masculine) rather than sex (female or male). The present study explored both gender and sex differences as they related to religious participation and spirituality among participants explicitly involved in religious activity. In contrast to previous studies, the data collected from 190 Christian adults revealed no statistically significant differences in religious participation between men and women nor among individuals categorized as feminine, masculine, or androgynous. Furthermore, men, women, and people from each gender orientation were equally aware of their relationship with God. The results suggest gender and sex differences within the psychology of religion are not as clear as previously proposed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AllportG. W., & RossJ. M. (1967). Personal religious orientation and prejudice.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 5, 432–443.
2.
BatsonC. D., & SchoenradeP. (1991a). Measuring religion as quest: 1. Validity concerns.Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 30, 416–429.
3.
BatsonC. D., & SchoenradeP. (1991b). Measuring religion as quest: 2. Reliability concerns.Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 30, 430–447.
4.
BelenkyM. F., ClinchyB. M., GoldbererN. R., & TaruleJ. M. (1986). Women's ways of knowing: The development of self, voice, and mind.New York: Basic Books.
5.
BemS. L. (1974). The measurement of psychological androgyny.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 42, 155–162.
6.
BemS. L. (1977). On the utility of alternative procedures for assessing psychological androgyny.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 45, 196–205.
7.
BemS. L. (1981). Bem Sex-Role Inventory sampler set: Manual, test booklet (short and original), scoring key (short and original).Consulting Psychologist Press.
8.
BemS. L. (1985). Androgyny and gender schema theory: A conceptual and empirical integration. In SondereggerT. B. (Ed.); Nebraska symposium on motivation: Psychology and gender (vol. 32. pp. 179–226). Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.
9.
BoivinM. J., KirbyA. L., UnderwoodL. K., & SilvaH. (1999). In HillP.C., & HoodR.W. (Eds.), Measures of Religiosity (pp 382–385). Birmingham, AL: Religious Education Press.
10.
BuffordR. K., PaloutzianR. F., & EllisonC. W. (1991). Norms for the Spiritual Well-Being Scale.Journal of Psychology and Theology, 19(1), 56–70.
11.
BurrisC. T. (1999a). Quest Scale. In HillP. C., & HoodR. W. (Eds.), Measures of Religiosity (pp. 138–141). Birmingham, AL: Religious Education Press.
12.
BurrisC. T. (1999b). Religious Orientation Scale. In HillP. C., & HoodR. W. (Eds.), Measures of Religiosity (pp. 144–154). Birmingham, AL: Religious Education Press.
13.
DeNicolaK. (1997). Response to Reich's “Do we need a theory for the religious development of women?”The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 7, 93–97.
14.
FowlerJ. W. (1993). Response to Helmut Reich: Overview or apologetic?The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 3, 173–179.
15.
FowlerJ. W. (1995). Stages of faith: The psychology of human development and the quest for meaning.San Francisco: Harper Collins. (Original work published 1981)
GallupG.Jr., & LindsayD. M. (1999). Surveying the religious landscape: Trends in U.S. beliefs.Harrisburg, PA: Morehouse Publishing.
18.
GilliganC. (1993). In a different voice: Psychological theory and women's development.Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. (Original work published 1982)
19.
GorsuchR. L., & McPhersonS. E. (1989). Intrinsic/Extrinsic measurement: I/E revised and single item scales.Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 28, 348–354.
20.
HallT. A. (1997). Gender differences: Implications for spiritual formation and community life.Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 16, 222–232.
21.
HallT. W., & EdwardsK. J. (1996). The initial development and factor analysis of the Spiritual Assessment Inventory.Journal of Psychology and Theology, 24, 233–246.
22.
HillP. C. (1999). Religious Orientation Scales-Revised. In HillP. C., & HoodR. W. (Eds.), Measures of Religiosity (pp. 154–156). Birmingham, AL: Religious Education Press.
23.
KirkpatrickL. A. (1989). Psychometrical analysis of the Allport-Ross and Feagin measures of intrinsic-extrinsic religious orientation. In LynnM. L., & MobergD. O (Eds.), Research in the social scientific study of religion (Vol. 1, pp 1–31). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
24.
LongV. O., & HeggenC. H. (1988). Clergy perceptions of spiritual health for adults, men, and women.Counseling and Values, 32, 213–220.
25.
MahalikJ. R., & LaganH. D. (2001). Examining masculine gender role conflict and stress in relation to religious orientation and spiritual well-being.Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 2, 24–33.
26.
NewbergA., D'AquiliE., & RauseV. (2001). Why God won't go away: Brain science and the biology of belief.New York: Ballantine.
27.
OzorakW. E. (1996). The power, but not the glory: How women empower themselves through religion.Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 35, 17–29.
28.
PaloutzianR. F., & EllisonC. W. (1982). Loneliness, spiritual well-being and the quality of life. In PeplauL. A., & PerlmanD. (Eds.), Loneliness: A sourcebook of current theory, research and therapy (pp. 224–237). New York: Wiley Interscience.
ReichK. H. (1997). Do we need a theory of religious development for women?The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 7, 67–86.
31.
SchlechtD. (2000). Returning to the feminine ground.Counseling and Values, 44, 118–123.
32.
SchweitzerF. (1997). Why we might still need a theory for the religious development of women.The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 7, 87–91.
33.
SimpsonD. B., NewmanJ. L., & FuquaD. R. (2007). Spirituality and Personality: Accumulating Evidence.Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 26, 33–44.
34.
SpenceJ. T., & HelmreichR. L. (1980). Masculine instrumentality and feminine expressiveness: Their relationships with sex role attitudes and behaviors.Psychology of Women Quarterly, 5, 147–163.
35.
StevensJ. P. (2002). Applied multivariate statistics for the social sciences (4th ed.). Mahway, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
36.
StokesK. (1990). Faith development in the adult life cycle.Journal of Religious Gerontology, 7, 167–184.
37.
ThompsonE. H.Jr. (1991). Beneath the status characteristic: Gender variations in religiousness.Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 30, 381–394.
38.
TisdaleT. C. (1999). Spiritual Assessment Inventory. In HillP. C., & HoodR. W. (Eds.), Measures of Religiosity (pp. 367–371). Birmingham, AL: Religious Education Press.
