Gendering Secularization Theory

Abstract

The author argues that our understanding of secularization can be greatly enhanced by taking gender differences seriously. Whilst existing theories of secularization do a good job of explaining why men disaffiliated from Christianity after the onset of industrialization, they ignore the experience of women-whose experience of modernization was significantly different. Whilst men have been responsible for paid work outside the home, women have been engaged in unpaid care work within the home. Their entrance into the paid labour force since the 1960s has not relieved them of traditional duties of care. It is suggested that we can best understand contemporary women's patterns of religious affiliation and disaffiliation in relation to their working lives, whether embracing domestic employment, or seeking a balance between both forms of labour.

Where Men Appear More Religious Than Women: Turning a Gender Lens on Religion in Israel

“…Although our findings refute some past theories, they are consistent with the religion-as-gendered-institution framework we laid out, which would suggest Jewish men seem more religious for the same reasons Muslim men attend services more frequently and Christian women seem consistently more religious. Just as Muslim teachings prescribe attendance for men and Christian contexts link religiosity, femininity, and motherhood, Jewish men encounter religious cultural norms that encourage them to publicly express their religiosity in ways that could then foster greater religious commitment (Schnabel 2015b(Schnabel , 2016Sullins 2006;Woodhead 2008). Put simply, observant Jewish men are expected to engage in regular ritual practice, religion is therefore a central part of their everyday existence, and they subsequently say religion is important in their lives.…”

Reframing Secularist Premises: Divorce among Traditionalist Muslim and Jewish Women within the Secular State

“…Indeed, these women often navigate both the religious and the secular avenues to maximize gains for themselves and their children (Woodhead 2008a;Fournier 2012). This normative overlapping might be especially able to trigger reforms from within since it permits comparative outlooks that empower religious women and inspire significant changes.…”

“…Scholars who work in this tradition have also looked at how allegedly emancipatory secular "discourses" constrain and reduce the options available to women (Aune, Sonya, Giselle 2008;Woodhead 2008a;Scott 2013;Mahmood 2013;Karam 2013;contra Burns 2013). Moreover, others have challenged the view according to which minority cultures are innately more patriarchal than Western/secular culture (Phillips 2007;Song 2007; also see Laborde 2008) and have expressed the need for the state to respect cultural differences whilst also assuring that the rights of vulnerable group members such as women are protected (Shachar 2001).…”

Feminist Practice and Solidarity in Secular Societies: Case Studies on Feminists Crossing Religious–Secular Divides in Politics and Practice in Antwerp, Belgium

“…In a survey held recently among al arge group of Britishf eminists, Aune (2011) reveals that feminists in general are less supportive of traditional religion and are moreengagedwith and/or supportive of the so-called 'alternative' or non-institutional religiositya nd spirituality. She suggests three main reasons as explaining this phenomenon: feminism's historical alignment with secularism (Braidotti, 2008), the role of feminism within secularization and the so-called 'decline of religion' as agendered historical development differentiated alongreligious and ethnic demarcations (Aune, Sharma, &Vincett,2008), and the connections betweenf eminism and alternative spiritualities (Woodhead, 2008).…”