Age, Religion, and Attitudes about Gender and Family: Shifting Gears and Generational Realignment

• In Event: Sociology of Religion Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 2. Religion, Marriage, and Family

Abstract

Support for gender equality has grown in recent decades, particularly in public life, yet scholars argue that this progress has stalled since the 1990s. Religion has long been linked to the persistence of traditional gender attitudes, yet this stall has coincided with sharp declines in religious affiliation and participation. At the same time, public polls show increasing skepticism toward gender equality among younger men. If the gender revolution is not only stalled but, in some respects, reversing, it challenges the long-standing assumption that each generation becomes more progressive. As a result, modern theories of social change, religion, and gender demand closer examination. Using nationally representative data from the 2024 American Mosaic Project, we examine how age, measured across four cohorts, and religious versus nonreligious identity relate to multiple measures of gender ideology. Older adults, religious and nonreligious alike, express the strongest support for egalitarian family roles and women’s legal rights, while younger cohorts are more likely to endorse traditional or essentialist views, especially men and younger nonreligious men, with patterns shaped by race and religious identity. Overall, our findings challenge linear accounts of gender progress and show that change in gender ideology is better understood as a cohort-specific “shifting of gears” shaped by cultural repertoires and social location rather than secularization alone. Our findings raise broader questions for scholars of gender, religion, and social change about how “progress” is defined across generations and the role of shifting cultural contexts and secular institutions in shaping gender attitudes.

Authors

• Jordyn Wald, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

• Penny Edgell, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

• Jacqui Frost, Purdue University