“Doing Gender” and “Doing Religion” in Science: A Cross-National Examination

Women tend to be both underrepresented in science and overrepresented in organized religion, yet the connection between these two phenomena is rarely examined. With survey data collected among 6,537 biologists and physicists from four national contexts—the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal for the scientific study of religion
Authors: Thomson, Bob (Author) ; Ecklund, Elaine Howard 1973- (Author) ; Mehta, Sharan Kaur (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Wiley-Blackwell [2020]
In: Journal for the scientific study of religion
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B USA / Great Britain / Italy / India / Natural sciences / Gender studies / Science of Religion
RelBib Classification:AA Study of religion
AD Sociology of religion; religious policy
KBF British Isles
KBJ Italy
KBM Asia
KBQ North America
Further subjects:B Cross-national research
B Religion
B Science
B Gender
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
Volltext (doi)
Description
Summary:Women tend to be both underrepresented in science and overrepresented in organized religion, yet the connection between these two phenomena is rarely examined. With survey data collected among 6,537 biologists and physicists from four national contexts—the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, and India—we test whether science as a social field shapes religious expressions and attitudes differently for men and women. Findings reveal a religious gender gap in India and Italy but not in the United States and the United Kingdom. Further, except in Italy, men had higher odds of perceiving religion and science to be in conflict, believing that their colleagues have a negative attitude about religion, and reporting that science made them less religious. Evidence suggests that men in science may disproportionately internalize normative pressures to masculinize by eschewing religion. Our findings have implications for selection into academic science and the practice of religion among men and women in science.
ISSN:1468-5906
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal for the scientific study of religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1111/jssr.12654