Chapter 10: Religion and Gender

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. What is the major paradox that many sociologists of religion investigate?

A. Why are women more religious than men when most religions are patriarchal?

B. Why are women more likely to be leaders than men in patriarchal religions?

C. Why are men religious leaders when they are generally less religious than women?

D. Why do people who are gender minorities stay in heteronormative religions?

2. The belief that men should be leaders and that women should be submissive is captured in which term?

A. gendered language

B. complementary roles

C. gendered religious organizational structures

D. heteronormativity

3. Which of the following strongly predicts sexist beliefs?

A. believing the Bible should be interpreted

B. attending a conservative or evangelical Protestant church

C. praying frequently

D. believing in a loving God

4. Religious dress codes for women often seek to accomplish which of the following?

A. accomplishment of ritual purity

B. integration of worship services

C. control of women’s sexuality

D. women’s access to leadership roles

5. Which of the following is one justification found in Christianity for excluding women from leadership?

A. Women are already busy balancing work and family.

B. Women are not interested in religious leadership.

C. Jesus said that women should not lead.

D. People believed that religious leaders should maintain purity, which women could not do.

6. The process of elevating common members of a religious group into a leadership role is known as ______.

A. ordination

B. parity

C. stained glass ceiling

D. agency

7. Which tradition bars women from ordination yet relies on women to lead local congregations when male leaders are unavailable?

A. Judaism

B. Evangelical Protestantism

C. Catholicism

D. Islam

8. What events in larger society have contributed to increases in women’s ordination?

A. growing workforce participation

B. increased access to education

C. World wars that took men away from home.

D. women’s rights movements

9. What is the stained glass ceiling?

A. The belief in women’s subordination that affects all spheres of life.

B. The invisible barriers that block women from the highest leadership roles in religion.

C. The gendered ideology that encouraged women to stay at home.

D. The highest levels of participation that people can exhibit.

10. What are the key differences between men’s and women’s religiosity?

A. Women are more religious across measures of belief and practice.

B. Men are more religious across measures of belief and practice.

C. Women are more religious in terms of belief but not practice.

D. Women are more religious in terms of practice but not belief.

11. Which of the following is part of the “Power-Control Theory” explanation for gender differences in religious behavior?

A. Men have a biological propensity for risk taking owing to higher levels of testosterone.

B. Men develop a propensity for risk taking in more patriarchal households.

C. Women who come from more egalitarian households are more risk averse.

D. Women are very rarely socialized to be risk averse.

12. How do many women in patriarchal traditions view themselves?

A. as willing pawns

B. as cultural dupes

C. as active agents

D. as passive victims

13. According to a rational choice perspective, being irreligious is best understood as a(n) ______.

A. valid choice if benefits outweigh costs

B. independent choice

C. economic necessity

D. risky behavior

14. In countries that are predominantly Jewish or Muslim, what are the general patterns of attendance at religious services?

A. Women are more likely to attend than men.

B. Men are more likely to attend than women.

C. Men and women are equally likely to attend.

D. Men and women rarely attend and practice at home instead.

15. According to Davidman, why do some secular women convert to Orthodox Judaism?

A. They find support for work and family within Orthodox Judaism.

B. They marry an Orthodox Jew and then convert.

C. They find the established way of life fulfilling and meaningful.

D. They are pawns who do not understand their choices.

16. According to the textbook, which of the following is a reason given by Muslim women in American society for wearing the traditional veil (hijab)?

A. It can be a fashion statement.

B. It reflects their identity as Arabs.

C. It can prompt meaningful conversation.

D. It challenges stereotypes.

17. According to Avishai, how do some Jewish women interpret gendered ritual practices around menstruation?

A. as a form of soft patriarchy

B. as a way of performing their religious identity

C. as a means of controlling their modesty

D. as an opportunity for leadership in the home

18. Masculinity in evangelical Protestantism consists of gender complementarity, male dominance, and ______.

A. agency

B. cisnormativity

C. heteronormativity

D. soft patriarchy

19. What does cisnormativity mean?

A. the privileging of heterosexuality

B. the belief that women are best suited to stay at home

C. the assumption that people conform to the gender binary

D. the idea that God created only male and female

20. The authors discuss two binaries that can result in marginalization or erasure of some identities: male versus female and ______.

A. transgender versus cisgender

B. heteronormativity versus cisnormativity

C. evangelical versus mainline protestant

D. patriarchy versus soft patriarchy

Essay

When it comes to essay questions, students sometimes write poorly because they are guessing about what the instructor wants, even if the question seems to be perfectly clear. For that reason we strongly recommend provision of an audience (so students know how much to assume in use of sociological vocabulary as well as how much must be made explicit) and criteria for evaluation (which is information that any writer needs to know). Below are two sample statements that might be used as part of an essay question.

A. This essay calls for presentation and defense of an informed opinion. You should write for a well-educated reader, but one unfamiliar with sociological approaches to the study of religion. You will be graded on (a) provision of a clearly stated thesis, (b) the clarity and sophistication of your rationale, and c) the ability to support your argument with strong evidence. Sophistication of rationale refers to awareness of the complexity of the issues. The side of the argument that you support is irrelevant to the grading criteria.

B. Your audience for this essay should be senior sociology majors who know sociological vocabulary, but have never specifically studied the sociology of religion. The criteria for evaluation will be (1) accuracy of explanation, (2) clarity of illustrations or examples, and (3) thoroughness in exploring all dimensions of the issue.

Since some of these questions call for careful reflection, you might consider giving students a list of these and other essay questions in advance.

1. How is religion a gendered social institution? Be sure to consider how religious beliefs and practices can contribute to gender inequality.

2. Analyze gender inequality in Christian leadership. Why were women historically excluded from leadership?

3. What is the stained glass ceiling? What still needs to be done to achieve gender equality?

4. What is the paradox of gender and religion? How have sociologists explained the differences in men’s and women’s religiosity?

5. Why is it important to consider social and religious contexts when talking about gendered patterns of religiosity?

6. Based on this chapter, how do women in patriarchal religious traditions have agency? How can their agency nevertheless still reproduce inequality?

7. What does masculinity look like in evangelical Protestantism? What are the implications for gender inequality?

8. How is religion itself and the study of religion cisnormative? What steps can scholars take to remedy this?