Gender & Religion

short readsMar 23, 2016

Q&A: Why are women generally more religious than men?

A discussion with David Voas of the Department of Social Science at University College London on the gender gap in religion around the world.
short readsMar 2, 2016

Women relatively rare in top positions of religious leadership

We looked at nine major religious organizations in the U.S. that both ordain women and allow them to hold top leadership slots.
short readsDec 2, 2015

Religious groups’ policies on transgender members vary widely

Religious institutions are starting to formally address the participation of transgender people in their congregations, much as they have with the issue of accepting homosexuals.
short readsSep 9, 2014

The divide over ordaining women

Only 11% of American congregations were led by women in 2012, according to press reports of an upcoming National Congregations Study survey. That figure hasn’t changed since 1998.
short readsMay 30, 2014

Four-in-Ten Pakistanis say honor killing of women can be at least sometimes justified

Pakistan’s prime minister called the stoning death this week of a 25-year-old pregnant woman “unacceptable,” but a survey shows that not all Pakistanis share that view.
short readsJan 14, 2014

Q&A with author of U. Mich. study on preferred dress for women in Muslim countries

University of Michigan researcher Mansoor Moaddel explains the methods behind the survey and how the findings differ (or don’t) by gender, religion, age and education.
short readsJan 8, 2014

How people in Muslim countries prefer women to dress in public

Even as publics in many of the surveyed Muslim-majority countries express a clear preference for women to dress conservatively, many also say women should be able to decide for themselves what to wear.
short readsOct 8, 2013

Big majority of Mormons (including women) oppose women in priesthood

Mormon leaders recently reaffirmed their position that women should not be eligible for the priesthood – a position supported by a majority of Mormons.
reportFeb 14, 2012

Public Divided Over Birth Control Insurance Mandate

Americans who have heard about the federal rule that would require employers to provide birth control as part of their health care benefits are closely divided over whether religiously affiliated institutions should be given an exemption. Sharp divisions of opinion exist on the issue by religious affiliation, party and ideology.
featureFeb 26, 2009

The Stronger Sex — Spiritually Speaking

March is Women’s History Month. A new analysis of data from the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life, finds that women are more religious than men on a variety of measures. Data: Pew Forum U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, conducted in 2007, released in 2008.