Religiosity, Political Conservatism, and Public Opinion about Physical Spousal Violence in Egypt

• In Event: 341 - Section on Sociology of Religion Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 08. Islam and Buddhism

Abstract

Physical spousal violence directed towards women in marriage is a significant social and public health problem globally. Initial studies of violence against women tended to concentrate on developed countries, but some studies have now been conducted in third world nations. At the same time, a weakness in some of the literature is tendency to conflate denominational membership with religiosity. The aim of this research was to investigate the association between religiosity and attitudes toward intimate partner violence in the Arab Republic of Egypt. Data utilized were from wave 6 of the Egyptian World Values Survey. Bivariate and multivariate regression models were fitted to the data. It was found that religiosity was significantly associated with physical spousal violence. Those who attended more often were more apt to accept physical spousal violence against women. Surprisingly, women also supported physical spousal violence. It was concluded that exposure to religious beliefs, especially interpretations of Islamic Sharia may account for the influence of religion. Future research out to investigate whether changes in attitude may reduce what appears to be widespread acceptance of physical spousal violence in Egypt.

Authors

• Dina Aly Ezzat, Assiut uiversity

• Augustine J. Kposowa, University of California