by JH 9 Replies latest jw friends
Why is it that there are more woman than men in the organization? In my congregation there was much more woman than men. It was about 60-65% woman. Was that also the same in your congregation? That must mean that there is way more woman than men on this forum!!!
Edited by - jh on 6 January 2003 20:30:10
Yes . Perhaps they are more gullible!
Dont all throw things at me at once, only kidding
Women may get more out of the witness lifestyle, with friends, relationships, and the motherly feel that sometimes will accomany those who attend.
Few things:
1) WTBTS teachings do not appeal as much to people with higher education. Women, historically, have been less likely to get a higher education than men.
2) WTBTS ties you to the org with 'emotional blackmail' (IE., cutting off family, friends, etc, if you leave). Men are, traditionally, much less susceptible to this.
3) WTBTS doesn't really offer much other religions don't have other than an unusually close and closed community - promise of meeting up with dead friends and family, as well. Very tempting to women, not as much so for men (generally).
The org is really tightly focused on controlling its women members with its specific policies. So, why are there any men at all? Well, it has something for them, too. Power. In the org, men have and can get power over others - and, women specifically - fairly easily.
Only problem for the org is, as more education is achieved, the seduction of raw power for its own sake becomes less tantalization. Alternatively (for those to whom the need to feel power over others is strong), there are much more significant ways to attain power in the world than the faux-control the org offers.
Almost every religion has more women than men. If you don't believe me, go to any church. I don't know if it's simple math, there are more women than men, or if it's because women's nature leads them to worship more than men. I just know this is not a dub thing, but a religious thing.
Xander;I don't think that holds up to what i've read- I have always understood through reading about cults, that they appeal to the more educated, as these are the people who tend to ponder and be anxious to find answers to lifes' problems-
but I agree with you on the other points;
I liked the( illusion) of a close community of women and the feel of solidarity.Also the appeal of a safe life for the children played a large part for me.
IMHO the men just got 'respect' and a superiority complex that outside of the cong they could not hope to have as none I met were ever worthy of it on merit alone.
edited to correct un-educated grammatical errors!
Edited by - termite 35 on 6 January 2003 19:23:52
I think you need to distinguish between so-called 'new age religions' and your more typical high control group or other organized religion.
In fact, even in the case of 'new age religions', it may well be the college-degreed that show the most interest....but that is NOT the same thing as the 'well-educated'.
Generally, those who have a keen interest in learning things - the sciences, mathematics, etc - are usually disinterested in such groups. That those same people are also almost exclusively male probably says a lot more about how the human mind functions than anything.
IE., everybody feels pulled to find the need to explain things...how that need is fulfilled may be the result of a gender difference, and college education is merely a symptom of THAT, not the other way around.
A lot of it has to do with the large number of older woman that attend the congregation. When I left the JW's and tried my hand at other Christian churches. It did not take long to see that, like the Witnesses, most Christian religions have a higher percentage of woman over men. In most cases that I saw, these were elderly woman. Not to say that the amount of younger woman was not also a little off, but the greater amount was in the elderly.
JH, I don't have an answer as to why, but my first four years in the cult was in a Spanish cong. and it was mostly women and a few white elders that spoke ok spanish.
When I've visited the congs. in Hawaii, I noticed the same thing, mostly women and imported white elders. Seems the ethnic men have very little interest in "reaching out" or even attending. I think in these cultures religious devotion seems to be the woman's job....
hi Xander;
I did'nt actually say 'well educated' I said more educated. And, at least from my own personnal experience, a very high proportion of 'new ones' in the congs tended to be more educated than average.Just an observation...
So when does 'a keen interest in learning things' tend to be a male occupation ????!
And why do you feel that 'sciences; mathematics etc' are the 'things' that 'they' go for?!
I would hope that your etc's also include the arts, literature,music which are just as challenging and that you don't feel women are less capeable than men. ( the old myth that educationally speaking we are less able in the Sciences and Mathematics has been proved false; statistics now show that when encouraged to study an educationally traditional male subject-the females are just as able- if not more so, as their dedication to study exceeds their males counterparts' dedication )
