Why Dutch Women are Still More Religious than Dutch Men: Explaining the Persistent Religious Gender Gap in the Netherlands Using a Multifactorial Approach

In many secular Western countries, women continue to demonstrate higher levels of religiosity than men. But why does this religious gender gap persist? In this research note, we set out to explain the religious gender gap in the Netherlands for three dimensions of religiosity: belief in God, frequen...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Review of religious research
Authors: Kregting, Joris (Author) ; Hermans, C. A. M. 1955- (Author) ; Scheepers, Peer (Author) ; Vermeer, Paul (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Springer [2019]
In: Review of religious research
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Netherlands / Religiosity / Gender
RelBib Classification:AD Sociology of religion; religious policy
KBD Benelux countries
Further subjects:B The Netherlands
B Social and psychological explanations
B Secularisation
B Religious gender gap
Online Access: Presumably Free Access
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Summary:In many secular Western countries, women continue to demonstrate higher levels of religiosity than men. But why does this religious gender gap persist? In this research note, we set out to explain the religious gender gap in the Netherlands for three dimensions of religiosity: belief in God, frequency of prayer and frequency of church attendance. Using high quality national representative survey data from LISS (Longitudinal Internet Studies for the Social sciences), an empirical model is built combining social and psychological determinants. We find that the experience of health restrictions, the personality trait conscientiousness and the gender orientation masculinity contribute to an explanation for the gender gap in the Netherlands regarding all three dimensions of religiosity. For belief in God and frequency of prayer, an additional psychological explanation comes from the gender orientation femininity.
ISSN:2211-4866
Contains:Enthalten in: Review of religious research
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1007/s13644-019-00364-3