Risk and Religion: An Explanation of Gender Differences in Religiosity
1995/03/01 by Alan S. Miller, John P. Hoffmann · 841 citations
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Philosophy #Psychology #Religion and Society Interactions #Religion, Society, and Development #Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology #Religiosity #Religious studies #Social psychology #Sociology
paper · doi:10.2307/1386523
published in Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 34(1), 63 (Wiley)
openalex publication_date 1995/03/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Abstract
Gender differences in religiosity are well known. Past studies have consistently shown that females tend to be more religious than males. We propose that gender differences in risk preferences are related to differences in religiosity. Building on the classic concept of "Pascal's wager," we conceive of religious behavior as risk averse and nonreligious behavior as risk taking. Analysis of data from the Monitoring the Future data set shows that the addition of risk preference strongly attenuates gender differences in religiosity. Risk preference also is a significant predictor of religiosity within each gender. Implications of this study are discussed.
Citations
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