Theory on the Gender Gap in Church Attendance

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It’s not just attendance. There’s a gap in belief in God.
It’s one thing to arrive at being agnostic or an atheist because they’re not convinced. But many aren’t like that from what I’ve seen.
Most men in our culture are cultivated to be arrogant. Men are often taught that independence and autonomy are important for men. Many men just don’t like being told that they can be wrong. Of these, they don’t like that they can’t do whatever they please. They certainly can’t stand the idea that God is above them. The mere thought of relying on God offends some too. These prefer being their own gods.
Sports probably interfere with Sunday attendance. They feel their enjoyment of a game is more important and therefore, skipping church is fine. Sport is the more powerful religion. They have their own liturgical rites and rituals during their corporate worship. Many sports even have their own creeds and hymns.
Then there’s the issue of sex because the world defines masculinity in terms of sex and many men are conformed to the world and because of that some men don’t like being told there are expectations in conduct so they leave, acting as if leaving will prove something to God. I’m sure the Almighty God will be scared by some puny humans.

However, some lines are terrible and corny (especially treating Jesus like a boyfriend, *restraining myself from ranting). But I don’t think that’s the main cause. Those are a matter of taste when the problem is much different than that.
 
Our parish often has what I call the “hijacking of the children” almost immediately after Mass begins. I can’t stand it. After the entrance procession, the priest invites all the children up to the altar for a blessing, and then tells them to “go with” so-and-so (inevitably a woman) downstairs in the basement to color pictures until the Eucharist. Children should sit with their parents for Mass. Most of the people are clueless and just go along with it while their kids follow behind a busybody holding a children’s Bible above her head and they all gaggle down the aisle to the basement. If you are a father, keep your kids with you during the whole Mass. They don’t need to be entertained incessantly. It’s Mass, not daycare.
 
buffalo said:
an effeminate Church
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That doesn’t explain the belief in God gap. There needs to be a belief in God first otherwise church attendance is an empty act (at least in my tradition).
 
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The issue is not that the Catholic Church is too feminine.
The issue is rather that some men in countries like America or England have the wrong concepts of masculinity.

The lack of male attendance is primary in countries like US and England.
In Croatia :croatia:,Serbia,Russia and Czech Republic in the Catholic and Orthodox Churches there are plenty of both men and women attending church and Slavic men are definitely masculine and not feminine.
Going to church is seen as a family affair where the whole family goes.

The points that the author of your linked article makes (focus on emotionality,falling in love with Jesus,Jesus as personal brides groom/lover/protector,focus on “how to live your best life” rather than taking up your cross etc) may have some validity in Evangelical type church like Hillsong.Perhaps there is a type of “feminization” in these types of churches but they have no validly regarding the Catholic Church as it is not “feminised”.
It’s hard to see the Catholic Church as being feminised as the Catholic Church does not place excessive value on emotionality,does not use emotion stirring ballad type music,has only male priests,has only male pope and male bishops etc…

If anything,the Catholic Church could be thought of (in the past,not so much now) as sometimes being too much of a “boys club” rather than as being too feminine.
Ie:some priests used to only take boys on excursions etc and if the priest had poor “emotional development” that obviously didn’t lead to healthy things.

American men need to challenge their (sometimes) false concepts of masculinity.
They should form their concepts of masculinity based off the characteristics of men such as Pope Francis and his bishops and not on “boofhead” or macho versions of masculinity such as Mark Driscoll.
For example a quality such as compassion is not a quality exclusive to women and courage is not exclusive to men.
 
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In my parish it is about learning about God’s Word at the child’s level. Men and women serve in this ministry. to young children.
 
That is what Religious Education classes are for. One’s family should stay together during Mass.
 
I would love to know where all you guys worship that you see one priest and everybody else assisting with the Mass to be women. Because I’m not seeing it anywhere. I almost always see at least 1/3 to 80 percent men, most of them retirement age but a few middle aged and I see about equal altar servers of both genders. I have been at Masses where female attendees outnumber male, but I’m not seeing a shortage of males actually helping with the Mass.
 
I don’t believe it’s the case but this theory is worth considering:
Women are also more likely than men to read Scripture at least once a week (49 percent vs. 40 percent) and believe the Bible is the Word of God (78 percent vs. 72 percent).
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While there are likely to be numerous factors that influence this gap, I suspect the most important is the difference in Bible reading habits.
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Looking at these charts, we might conclude that the more a person prays the more likely they are to read the Bible. While this is a possibility, I think the causal relationship goes the other way. Think about the devotional habits of the professing Christians you know. How many pray but don’t read the Bible? How many read the Bible and yet do not pray?

In my experience—and I suspect yours is the same—I know a number of believers who pray and yet rarely if ever read Scripture, yet I do not know of any frequent Bible readers who do not also pray.
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For decades (if not centuries) we’ve heard the problem is the feminization of the church—that the church’s music, messages, and ministries cater to women rather than men. But what if the problem—and solution—is more basic? What if women are more inclined to pray, attend church, and say their faith is very important to them simply because they’ve first taken the time to encounter God in his Word?
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Interesting thoughts. I can only speak for myself. There was a period in my life where I would go thru the motions. Maybe a little praying, almost no Bible reading. Then I felt that tug to get me closer. I began praying more. Interestingly, I also began studying the Bible more. 10 or 15 years ago, a life changing event drew me closer and closer to Our Lord.

I find praying, Mass attendance , and Bible reading all increase together. But that’s just me.
 
Isn’t the Church the Bride of Christ and is supposed to be feminine? Or is the Church supposed to be masculine?

The notion of Christianity being a religion for women and slaves is quite an old one.
 
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Personally speaking in my parish there is an equal representation of men and women.

What is not equal is the representation of old and young. It’s mostly elderly couples. Young people and even middle aged people are rare.
 
Just curious, but whenever I hear a man say ‘Men find little attractiveness’ or ‘men like this’ or ‘men don’t like that’ I have to wonder, is there some kind of survey that was done? Or is the man making those comments just expressing his personal opinion?
 
And in the same vein I always wonder why the “traditional” is considered masculine.

For me “traditional” includes effeminate Jesus statues, lots of lace and heavily embroidered satin, and churches full of babies and skirt wearing women holding potlucks.

I equate “modern” with stark angular buildings, wash and wear vestments, guitars, and people in jeans and sneakers. This isn’t “feminine” in my mind. I see a lot of women doing stuff in those churches but don’t see evidence of anything feminine
 
Deditus_Domina said:
For me “traditional” includes effeminate Jesus statues, lots of lace and heavily embroidered satin, and churches full of babies and skirt wearing women holding potlucks.
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This has always been one of the things that has baffled me about Traditionalists. They’ve always reminded me of kids who scrape the icing of the cake and never eat the cake itself.
 
What puzzles me even more is that when people question the gender imbalance in the church attendance, the question is worded as why there are too many women. Would these people prefer if women stopped attending church? These women are merely fulfilling their obligation. As for too few men attending church why blame women for the feminization of the church? It’s the men who have ultimate authority on what goes on in the church. As far as I know only men get ordained. Why blame lay people for what the clergy does or does not do?

Talk about barking up the wrong tree.
 
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