Poll Archive
Religion and Gender
Fieldwork: May 2nd 2008 - May 4th 2008
published by Movement for Reform Judaism
When you last thought about the concept of God, did you consider God as...?
| Male | 62% |
|---|---|
| Neither male nor female | 18% |
| Both male and female | 3% |
| Female | 1% |
| None of the above | 16% |
Around three quarters (73%) of those who classified themselves as ‘Christian' considered God as Male last time they considered the concept of God, compared with less than half (48%) of those who did not consider themselves as belonging to any religion.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with each of these statements:
| NET: Agree | Strongly agree | Somewhat agree | Somewhat disagree | Strongly disagree | NET: Disagree | Don't know | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All religions fundamentally discriminate on grounds of gender | 49% | 14% | 36% | 21% | 12% | 32% | 18% |
| All religions fundamentally discriminate on grounds of sexual orientation | 56% | 18% | 39% | 16% | 10% | 26% | 18% |
| Religion has no place in modern life | 29% | 12% | 17% | 30% | 32% | 62% | 9% |
| It is right to refer to God solely as ‘He' | 42% | 14% | 28% | 19% | 12% | 31% | 27% |
To what extent do you agree or disagree with each of these statements:
a) All religions fundamentally discriminate on grounds of gender
| Total | Male | Female | 18-24 | 25-34 | 35-44 | 45-54 | 55-64 | 65+ | AB | C1 | C2 | DE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NET: Agree | 49% | 55% | 44% | 39% | 40% | 52% | 53% | 54% | 53% | 55% | 51% | 46% | 46% |
| Strongly agree | 14% | 16% | 11% | 11% | 14% | 13% | 15% | 18% | 11% | 14% | 12% | 13% | 15% |
| Somewhat agree | 36% | 39% | 33% | 28% | 26% | 39% | 38% | 36% | 43% | 41% | 38% | 32% | 30% |
| Somewhat disagree | 21% | 19% | 22% | 24% | 27% | 17% | 16% | 18% | 23% | 23% | 22% | 19% | 17% |
| Strongly disagree | 12% | 11% | 12% | 13% | 11% | 11% | 12% | 9% | 13% | 9% | 12% | 13% | 13% |
| NET: Disagree | 32% | 30% | 34% | 37% | 38% | 28% | 29% | 27% | 36% | 32% | 35% | 32% | 30% |
| Don't know | 18% | 15% | 21% | 24% | 21% | 20% | 18% | 19% | 11% | 13% | 15% | 22% | 24% |
55% of men agreed with this statement, compared with 44% of women.
Younger participants were less likely to believe that all religions fundamentally discriminate on the grounds of gender, with just 39% of 18 to 24 year olds believing this compared with 53% of those aged 65 or over.
The higher a respondent's socio-economic group, the more likely they were to agree with this statement.
b) All religions fundamentally discriminate on grounds of sexual orientation
| Total | Male | Female | 18-24 | 25-34 | 35-44 | 45-54 | 55-64 | 65+ | AB | C1 | C2 | DE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NET: Agree | 56% | 59% | 53% | 51% | 55% | 58% | 54% | 60% | 58% | 59% | 58% | 51% | 56% |
| Strongly agree | 18% | 21% | 15% | 16% | 19% | 15% | 20% | 19% | 16% | 18% | 16% | 17% | 20% |
| Somewhat agree | 39% | 39% | 39% | 35% | 36% | 42% | 34% | 40% | 42% | 42% | 42% | 35% | 36% |
| Somewhat disagree | 16% | 18% | 15% | 20% | 18% | 13% | 18% | 11% | 17% | 18% | 18% | 16% | 11% |
| Strongly disagree | 10% | 10% | 10% | 11% | 8% | 10% | 8% | 10% | 12% | 9% | 11% | 9% | 10% |
| NET: Disagree | 26% | 27% | 25% | 32% | 26% | 23% | 26% | 21% | 29% | 27% | 29% | 25% | 22% |
| Don't know | 18% | 13% | 22% | 18% | 19% | 19% | 20% | 19% | 12% | 14% | 13% | 24% | 23% |
Men and older respondents were more likely to agree with this statement than women and younger participants.
c) Religion has no place in modern life
| Total | Male | Female | 18-24 | 25-34 | 35-44 | 45-54 | 55-64 | 65+ | AB | C1 | C2 | DE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NET: Agree | 29% | 37% | 22% | 33% | 38% | 31% | 28% | 28% | 19% | 29% | 27% | 31% | 30% |
| Strongly agree | 12% | 16% | 8% | 11% | 15% | 16% | 11% | 10% | 8% | 11% | 7% | 17% | 13% |
| Somewhat agree | 17% | 20% | 14% | 23% | 23% | 16% | 16% | 18% | 11% | 17% | 20% | 14% | 17% |
| Somewhat disagree | 30% | 25% | 35% | 24% | 27% | 32% | 29% | 38% | 30% | 34% | 31% | 32% | 23% |
| Strongly disagree | 32% | 32% | 33% | 34% | 24% | 26% | 34% | 27% | 45% | 31% | 37% | 27% | 32% |
| NET: Disagree | 62% | 57% | 68% | 57% | 52% | 58% | 63% | 65% | 75% | 66% | 67% | 59% | 56% |
| Don't know | 9% | 6% | 11% | 10% | 10% | 10% | 10% | 7% | 6% | 6% | 6% | 10% | 14% |
More than a third of men (37%) agreed with this statement, while less than a quarter (22%) of females agreed.
Less than a fifth (19%) of those aged 65 and over agreed with this, compared with 38% of 25 to 34 year olds.
d) It is right to refer to God solely as ‘He'
| Total | Male | Female | 18-24 | 25-34 | 35-44 | 45-54 | 55-64 | 65+ | AB | C1 | C2 | DE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NET: Agree | 42% | 42% | 41% | 28% | 37% | 38% | 34% | 49% | 57% | 36% | 41% | 49% | 41% |
| Strongly agree | 14% | 13% | 14% | 10% | 8% | 10% | 12% | 20% | 20% | 9% | 13% | 19% | 15% |
| Somewhat agree | 28% | 29% | 27% | 18% | 29% | 28% | 23% | 29% | 37% | 28% | 28% | 30% | 26% |
| Somewhat disagree | 19% | 19% | 19% | 22% | 16% | 17% | 27% | 16% | 18% | 23% | 23% | 11% | 17% |
| Strongly disagree | 12% | 11% | 13% | 19% | 14% | 13% | 10% | 11% | 8% | 14% | 13% | 11% | 9% |
| NET: Disagree | 31% | 30% | 32% | 41% | 30% | 30% | 37% | 27% | 25% | 37% | 37% | 23% | 25% |
| Don't know | 27% | 27% | 27% | 31% | 33% | 32% | 29% | 24% | 18% | 27% | 22% | 28% | 34% |
The over-65s were the only group from which a majority (57%) agreed with this statement.
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