S01E35: “Doing Gender” and “Doing Religion” in Science: A Cross-National Examination

This podcast episode, based on Robert A. Thomson Jr., Sharan Kaur Mehta, and Elaine Howard Ecklund’s 2020 article "‘Doing Gender’ and ‘Doing Religion’ in Science," examines how the social field of science shapes religious attitudes differently for men and women across the United States, United Kingdom, Italy, and India. Drawing on survey data from over 6,500 biologists and physicists, the study argues that in the Protestant West, science has been culturally masculinized as the domain of objectivity and rationality, while religion has been feminized as the domain of subjectivity and emotion. This cultural alignment results in a unique pattern. The discussion highlights that men in science—particularly in the US, UK, and India—are significantly more likely than women to perceive a conflict between faith and science and feel that their scientific training diminished their religiosity, suggesting that men may disproportionately internalize pressure to perform a "masculine" identity by eschewing religion. Ultimately, the research suggests that these intertwining constructions of gender and faith can create a "chilly climate" and a barrier of entry for women in Western STEM fields who have been socialized to value the subjective aspects of their faith.Full citation:Thomson, R.A., Jr., Mehta, S.K. and Ecklund, E.H. (2020), “Doing Gender” and “Doing Religion” in Science: A Cross-National Examination. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 59: 269-288. https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12654