Re-Understanding Religion and Support for Gender Equality in Arab Countries

Area of Science:

• Sociology
• Gender Studies
• Religious Studies

Background:

• Prevailing narratives link Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) publics' opposition to gender equality with patriarchal Islam.
• Large-scale, nuanced studies on how specific religiosity aspects influence gender equality support in MENA are lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and test a gendered agentic socialization framework for understanding religiosity and gender equality support in MENA.
• To disaggregate the influence of religiosity, emphasizing its multifaceted nature and the role of agency.

Main Methods:

• Utilized 15 waves of the World Values Survey data.
• Employed multilevel modeling to analyze the complex relationships between religiosity, gender, and sociocognitive empowerment.

Main Results:

• Most dimensions of religiosity correlate with opposition to gender equality.
• Salience of religion in daily life boosts women's support for gender equality.
• Gender and education significantly moderate the impact of religiosity dimensions on gender equality support.

Conclusions:

• Religious socialization in MENA is multifaceted and gendered, not solely deterministic.
• Individuals, particularly women, can exercise agency to deviate from patriarchal religious interpretations.
• Findings challenge monolithic views of religion and gender equality in the MENA region.