ABSTRACT
In the United States women are more likely than men to say religion is “very important” in their lives, according to a 2014 Pew Research Center survey. A few sociologists have theorized that the gender gap in religion is biological in nature, possibly stemming from higher levels of testosterone in men or other physical and genetic differences between the sexes. Among Christians in many countries, women report higher rates of weekly church attendance than men. But among Muslims and Orthodox Jews, men are more likely than women to say they regularly attend services at a mosque or synagogue. By most key measures of religious commitment, Muslim men and women are more alike in their levels of religiousness than are Christian men and women. The gender gaps among Christians, as well as some gender differences in oilier faith traditions, vary in size in different regions of the world.
