ARTICLE COMPARISON: Religion and Violence Against Women
I am currently in the process of “basketting” the various arguments that seek to answer research questions like mine. One basket I am currently exploring is the causal association between religion and a state’s culture that permits inter-partner violence. Researchers Barnett and Brandt enter the conversation from a positivist approach yet both subscribe to culturalist ontology, as described by Abbott. [1] Still, Barnett and Brandt differ in the methods used to conduct their studies.
Barnett studied 653 university students aged 18 to 30 in the US (large-n) while Brandt compared two case studies in Flanders, Belgium (small-n). Barnett researched the influence religiosity had on rape-myth acceptance and subsequently on sexual violence. [2] Brandt studied the idea that feminist theory, which has historically been associated with secularism, has constructed the notion that gender equality will always be at odds with religiosity. [3] Brandt poses that the acceptance of this idea has made permissible a patriarchal culture which permits violence against women. [4] While these studies do not examine the same phenomena, both scholars agree that religion has significant influence in a state’s culture that permits male violence toward women.
It is important to note that Brandt’s piece studied religion embedded in a state’s culture whereas Barnett studied individual religious affiliation. Barnett argues that religion is an important component of American culture and therefore claims that religion is inherently a part of US culture. I creatively disagree with this notion when comparing American religiosity to that of European or Latin states. The US has, at least nominally, never claimed one single religion as its own. US level of religiosity cannot be equated with that of states like, say, Ireland, that institute religion into their public education and other societal, cultural practices. [5] Still, both articles enter into conversation with each other on the basis of gender violence at the broader level and never actually discuss femicide in the specific. This allows me to pull general information regarding gender violence and later apply it to my topic in order to explain femicide.
All that considered I am leaning toward an approach similar to Brandt’s in order to explore the culture of traditionally religious states such as Italy or Latin America which is home to record femicide rates. This research has made me more confident in my project so that the clouds surrounding my puzzle are beginning to lift and my question is finally becoming clearer.
NOTES
[1] Abbott, Andrew. Methods of Discovery: Heuristics for the Social Sciences. 1st edition. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. p. 52. 2004.
[2] Barnett, Michael D., Kylie B. Sligar, and Chiachih D. C. Wang. “Religious Affiliation, Religiosity, Gender, and Rape Myth Acceptance: Feminist Theory and Rape Culture.” Journal of Interpersonal Violence 33, no. 8. p. 1221. April 1, 2018.
[3] Brandt, Nella van den. “Feminist Practice and Solidarity in Secular Societies: Case Studies on Feminists Crossing Religious–Secular Divides in Politics and Practice in Antwerp, Belgium.” Social Movement Studies 14, no. 4. p. 495. July 4, 2015.
[4] Ibid. p. 496.
[5] Russell, Cliodhna. “Religion in the Classroom: How Other Countries in the EU Deal with It.” TheJournal.Ie. 2016. http://www.thejournal.ie/religion-classroom-eu-examples-primary-divestment-2887905-Aug2016/.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Abbott, Andrew. Methods of Discovery: Heuristics for the Social Sciences. 1st edition. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. pp. 52-3. 2004.
Barnett, Michael D., Kylie B. Sligar, and Chiachih D. C. Wang. “Religious Affiliation, Religiosity, Gender, and Rape Myth Acceptance: Feminist Theory and Rape Culture.” Journal of Interpersonal Violence 33, no. 8. pp. 1219-1235. April 1, 2018.
Brandt, Nella van den. “Feminist Practice and Solidarity in Secular Societies: Case Studies on Feminists Crossing Religious–Secular Divides in Politics and Practice in Antwerp, Belgium.” Social Movement Studies 14, no. 4. pp.493-508. July 4, 2015.
Russell, Cliodhna. “Religion in the Classroom: How Other Countries in the EU Deal with It.” TheJournal.Ie. 2016. http://www.thejournal.ie/religion-classroom-eu-examples-primary-divestment-2887905-Aug2016/.
Theodora, I am impressed with your article comparison as you do a great job at breaking down the core parts of the articles without essentially summarizing them. I think it is great you are finding comfort and seeing where your research might go. Similar to the Oil, Islam, and Women article we read in class I think it would be valuable to look at this topic in regions such as the Middle East and East/South Asia. I am also just a little curious about the broad term of religion you are looking at. I notice you never specify the religion of a specific area. This would be something interesting to look at whether the branch of religion plays an influence and to what degree.
Theodora — overall you have two articles that are clearly relevant to your research and that can inform further research as you build the theoretical and empirical foundations of your project. In analyzing these two articles you identify the main methodological orientation of both pieces (neopositivist). With this in mind, what are some of the more specific methodological elements that each emphasizes? It would be good to go into a bit more detail, using some specific terms, to help further unpack these methodologies. In cases of neopositivist research, for example, you should note what the DV is along with the key IV(s) and hypotheses tested (this helps further contextualize the main claims and the different explanations that scholars offer for similar puzzles).
More generally, make sure to cast a wide net as you examine scholarship and be especially attentive to other possible explanations. Towards the end of the post you seem to settle on culture as a primary explanation–but it is far too soon to make this jump just yet! Remember that one of the primary purposes of reading scholarship is to identify the *different* types of explanations that scholars offer for puzzles like yours. With that in mind, set aside culture/religion for a bit and think about (and search for) scholarship that offers other kinds of explanations as well. Keep reading and researching with an eye to these things!