Gendered God Imagery and Attitudes Toward Mothers’ Labor Force Participation: Examining the Transposable Character of Religious Schemas |
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| Authors: | Sarah Shah John P. Bartkowski Xiaohe Xu |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of SociologyUniversity of Toronto;2. Department of SociologyUniversity of Texas at San Antonio |
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| Abstract: | God imagery has been shown to have a profound influence on a diverse array of attitudes and behaviors. Research has also underscored the religious antecedents of traditionalist gender ideologies. This study integrates these parallel literatures by examining the degree to which gendered God imagery is a transposable schema that is associated with attitudes toward mothers’ paid labor force participation. We hypothesize that otherworldly schemas predicated on gender difference—namely, paternal and maternal images of God—have this‐worldly consequences by reinforcing opposition to mothers’ workforce participation. Analyses of General Social Survey data reveal strong support for this hypothesis. The evidence also demonstrates that paternal God images produce particularly robust and persistent opposition to mothers’ labor force participation net of other factors. Additional hypotheses about the interaction effects exhibited by gendered God imagery, prayer, and worship service attendance are modestly supported. We conclude by discussing our study's implications and outlining directions for future research. |
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| Keywords: | gender women God image religion workforce |
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