To want my belief in unevidenced gods is irrational.
That needs no defense.
You could argue that I should believe in sky fairies.
But you've not made that argument.
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Atheism and gender
- Thread starter IndigoChild5559
- Start date
That needs no defense.
You could argue that I should believe in sky fairies.
But you've not made that argument.
Overall, I think many factors could be at work, as mentioned here, such that pinning it down to one thing is not really possible:
Why Are Women More Religious Than Men?
* It could have to do with power and privilege, and the lack thereof. In most societies, men control more money, wealth, and assets than women and tend to have more economic, political, and social power than women. As such, women are more easily excluded, exploited, and discriminated against. Perhaps, as a result of this, they are more likely to turn to the consolation of religion.
* It could have to do with agency, and the lack thereof; men generally have more freedom and agency than women in most societies; they have a greater ability to decide what work to do, where to live, how to get and manage money, etc. In most societies, women are thus more vulnerable than men – financially, legally, domestically, etc. Indeed, poverty adversely affects women much more than men, the world over. This could make the psychological comfort and institutional support of religion more appealing to women than men.
* It could have to do with socialization: perhaps boys are socialized to be assertive, independent, and rebellious, while girls are socialized to be acquiescent, relational, and obedient, which then manifests itself later in life with women being more open to religion than men.
* It could have to do with the patterned roles for men and women in society; women tend to be expected to take up roles as caregivers and nurtures, raising children and tending to the sick and elderly, while men tend to be exempt from such roles; this again could make religion more appealing to women than men, for various reasons.
* It could have to do with who traditionally works inside/outside the home. While men traditionally work outside the home, women the world over are more likely to work within the home, and this might make religious involvement more interesting and appealing to women; indeed, we know that women who work outside the home tend to be less religious than those who work within the home, and those nations with the highest rates of women working outside the home -- for example, Scandinavia -- tend to be among the most secular.
* Of course, it could also have something to do with innate differences between the sexes, be they genetic, neurological, physiological, or hormonal.
Why Are Women More Religious Than Men?
* It could have to do with power and privilege, and the lack thereof. In most societies, men control more money, wealth, and assets than women and tend to have more economic, political, and social power than women. As such, women are more easily excluded, exploited, and discriminated against. Perhaps, as a result of this, they are more likely to turn to the consolation of religion.
* It could have to do with agency, and the lack thereof; men generally have more freedom and agency than women in most societies; they have a greater ability to decide what work to do, where to live, how to get and manage money, etc. In most societies, women are thus more vulnerable than men – financially, legally, domestically, etc. Indeed, poverty adversely affects women much more than men, the world over. This could make the psychological comfort and institutional support of religion more appealing to women than men.
* It could have to do with socialization: perhaps boys are socialized to be assertive, independent, and rebellious, while girls are socialized to be acquiescent, relational, and obedient, which then manifests itself later in life with women being more open to religion than men.
* It could have to do with the patterned roles for men and women in society; women tend to be expected to take up roles as caregivers and nurtures, raising children and tending to the sick and elderly, while men tend to be exempt from such roles; this again could make religion more appealing to women than men, for various reasons.
* It could have to do with who traditionally works inside/outside the home. While men traditionally work outside the home, women the world over are more likely to work within the home, and this might make religious involvement more interesting and appealing to women; indeed, we know that women who work outside the home tend to be less religious than those who work within the home, and those nations with the highest rates of women working outside the home -- for example, Scandinavia -- tend to be among the most secular.
* Of course, it could also have something to do with innate differences between the sexes, be they genetic, neurological, physiological, or hormonal.
May I offer you some cheese?
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I also remember that, as fallout from that, many atheist organizations did some serious self-reflection and ended up instituting codes of conduct to try to stop incidents like that from happening again.
IMO, most atheist organizations are better than most religious organizations in creating a welcoming environment and stamping out harassment.
Stories like Elevatorgate might discourage some atheist women from going to conferences, but the idea that a woman would choose church over an atheist group because of harassment? That strikes me a lot like jumping into the pool because you don't want to get wet from the rain.
Shadow Wolf
Certified People sTabber
Exsqueeze me?
Presumptuous arrogance much?
firedragon
Veteran Member
False. Assumption.
For those of us who didnt even know about Elevatorgate here is a wiki on it.
Elevatorgate - RationalWiki
mikkel_the_dane
My own religion
Well, you are then the first record human to have resolved the problem of solipsism and Agrippa's Trilemma. I like to hear more about that. You would, if you have done it, solved something that nobody so far have solved in recorded human history.
Fallen Prophet
Well-Known Member
It is my opinion that men skew toward atheism more because men are more willing to either 1.) Fight meaningless wars or 2.) Fight losing battles.
Except we usually don't vote to go to war - so blame the idiots (usually) who instigate such, rather than all men.
Women realize that they have fewer perks in America. They get less pay for the same work, and often have to quit work to raise babies. Some of the brightest women support women's rights movements. They don't want to take charge of them because they are humble. So, they might want to hire a man to do the things that they need done to show their superiority over men. Men sometimes have alpha personalities. They take over and get the job done. Women take on the role of helpers of men and each other. Thus, men are free thinkers.
PureX
Veteran Member
Well, if you'd bothered to follow the conversation ...Exsqueeze me?
Presumptuous arrogance much?
I don't know what that is.
But whatever...I've never seen any argument or
evidence that compels me to believe in gods.
So I've solved nothing.
mikkel_the_dane
My own religion
You were making an epistemological argument in part about the metaphysical/ontological status of objective reality. And yes, you solved nothing. You only claimed you could, but apparently you are not aware of the limits of positive claims using evidence, so you took for granted that you can use evidence in a way you can't.
That doesn't mean anything in any negative sense as for your worth as a human. It just means that you apparently haven't learned the limits of reason, logic and evidence in the case of metaphysics/ontology. That is all.
Regards
Mikkel
I generally avoid doing anything that could
be described with such fancy words.
At least we agree on something.
What I've not yet learned....
Any reason to believe in gods.
No matter how technical & lengthy your arguments, they
don't defeat this simple basis for not leaping to belief in gods.
I'm convinced that philosophy is a field dedicated to making
straightforward concepts inscrutable with arcane language
& needless complexity just so that the Philosopher's Union
can keep its members employed in their ivory towers.
mikkel_the_dane
My own religion
No, we are both talking about reason, logic and evidence. I just use the technical words and you use the common everyday words. That is all.
Fallen Prophet
Well-Known Member
I never blamed all men and I don't believe there is anything wrong with justified wars.
So stuck in your theistic mindset that you can't appreciate another point of view, eh?
Fallen Prophet
Well-Known Member
It's not that simple. I just think it's meaningless to argue against people's faith in the divine. It's not a battle anyone's gonna win.
Shadow Wolf
Certified People sTabber
I did, hence my response.
What you said was very arrogant and presumptuous.