View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by SHAREOK repository UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA GRADUATE COLLEGE LEARNING GENDER AT CHURCH A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE FACULTY in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY By JASON DUNNINGTON Norman, Oklahoma 2008 LEARNING GENDER AT CHURCH A DISSERTATION APPROVED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY BY ______________________________ Dr. Ann Beutel, chair ______________________________ Dr. Craig St. John ______________________________ Dr. Susan Sharp _______________________________ Dr. Trina Hope _______________________________ Dr. David Moxley ©Copyright by JASON P. DUNNINGTON 2008 All Rights Reserved. Acknowledgements As a writer once put it, the writing of acknowledgements marks the true end of a project. It provides an occasion to re-live the difficulties, to remember the break-through moments, and to express gratitude for the assistance that made it all possible. First, I want to thank Jamie for your loving patience with me over numerous evenings and weekends as I worked on this project and, for your moral support and belief in my dream of earning my doctorate. When I decided I would go back to school, no one had more faith in me than you, and for that I will always be indebted. Next I want to thank Dr. Beutel. As chair of my dissertation committee you exceeded all my expectations. Thank you for your professional knowledge, tireless editing, and desire to help me learn as I worked my way through this project. I am also very grateful for your friendship. Finally, I would like to thank my committee members. Overall I consider this project a valuable learning experience and with the help and guidance of my chair and committee I am thankful to have had the opportunity to complete it. iv Table of Contents Abstract ……………………………………………….……………………….vi Chapter 1 Introduction………………...…………..…………….……………..1 Chapter 2 Gender Socialization...………….……..……………………………4 Chapter 3 Religion and Gender.…………...…….…………………………...24 Chapter 4 Background and History……….…….…………………………...37 Chapter 5 Methods and Research Sites………...…………………………….45 Chapter 6 Sunday School Curriculum Findings…………………………….54 Chapter 7 Sunday School Observation Findings……………………..……..91 Chapter 8 Discussion and Conclusions…………………………………..…145 References…………………………………………………………………..……..165 Appendix A..……………………………………………………………………...177 Appendix B………………………………………………………………………..178 Appendix C………………………………………………………………………..180 v Abstract Little research has been done on religious gender socialization, that is, gender socialization that is unique to a religious organization. This study used content analysis of Sunday school curricula, non-participant observation of Sunday school classes for preschool aged children, and in-depth interviews with children’s pastors to examine religious gender socialization at one Southern Baptist Church and one United Methodist Church. This study identified gender socialization that was unique to religious organizations. It also identified gender socialization that was not unique to religious organizations (e.g., socialization processes that likely occur at preschools or daycares too). The findings indicate that techniques used to facilitate religious gender socialization were less affected by what curriculum a church selected than by the way the curriculum was taught (i.e., followed closely or disregarded altogether). The findings also indicate how significant structure and organization are to religious gender socialization. Finally, the findings from this study indicate that Cornerstone Southern Baptist teaches traditional gender roles while Life United Methodist teaches some traditional gender roles and some progressive and gender neutral roles. vi Chapter 1: Introduction Children learn at a very early age what it means to be a boy or a girl in our society. More specifically, as children grow up they are exposed to gender specific behaviors that they adopt and recreate. Through activities, opportunities, encouragements, discouragements, overt behaviors, and covert suggestions, children experience gender socialization (Witt 1997). In this project I studied the gender socialization of young children; however, I examined an agent of gender socialization that has been largely ignored in previous studies. Research on the gender socialization of young children in religious settings is limited. This project examined the extent to which gender socialization takes place within religious organizations—that is, gender socialization that is unique to a religious setting as opposed to other settings. In this way, this research departs from previous work on gender socialization, which usually focuses on such agents of gender socialization as the family, schools, and the media. Concentrating on religious gender socialization will therefore add to our understanding of gender socialization. Specifically, this project aimed to better understand the extent to which, if at all, gender socialization takes place at Sunday School programs in Protestant churches. Through non-participant observation, content analysis of Sunday school curriculum, and face-to-face interviews, I explored whether 1 and how church is an agent of preschool children’s gender socialization. The specific objectives of this project were to: 1) Identify gender socialization that is unique to religious organizations. 2) Uncover the various techniques used to facilitate any religious gender socialization at a Southern Baptist Church and a United Methodist Church. 3) Determine if and what might be variations in religious gender socialization between the Southern Baptist Convention and the United Methodist denominations. The outline of this dissertation is as follows: in Chapter Two I present the theoretical framework, that is, the theoretical perspectives potentially important to this research, which include Bandura’s social learning theory, social development theory, and situated learning theory. Chapter Three discusses how religion, particularly Christianity, perpetuates traditional gender roles and gender inequality in the church and society at large. Chapter Four provides a brief history of Christianity, Sunday schools, the Southern Baptist Convention, and the United Methodist denomination. Chapter Five describes the research sites, the research design and the methods used in the study. Chapter Six outlines the major themes and patterns found from conducting a content analysis of the Sunday school 2 curricula used by the churches in this study. Chapter Seven outlines the major themes and patterns found from the non-participant observation of Sunday school classrooms for preschool aged children at one Southern Baptist church and one United Methodist church. Finally, Chapter Eight gives a summary of the study findings, a discussion of theoretical implications and some of the difficulties experienced in conducting the study, and suggestions for future research. 3 Chapter 2: Gender Socialization Theories of Gender Socialization Long before children learn about the nature of religious groups, occupations, or school they learn about what it is to be a boy or a girl in their social environment. From the moment they are born, gender expectations influence the way boys and girls are treated. Parents and grandparents might, for example, select blue clothing and trucks for boys and pink clothing and dolls for girls. Based upon this early gendering, and the ways parents and others reinforce gender stereotypes throughout childhood, children learn early on that there are two distinct gender groups in society, male and female. This understanding of gender helps children develop a gender identity and behave in ways considered appropriate for their gender. In addition, the stereotypical gender conceptions that people may adopt may have lasting effects on how they perceive and process social information and how they use their learned capabilities (Bandura 1986; Bem 1981; Betz and Hackett 1981; Spence and Helmreich 1980). Because of the nature-nurture controversy, scholars have found it increasingly important to distinguish those aspects of males and females that can be attributed to biology and those that can be attributed to social influences (Beal 1994). The term "sex" denotes the actual physical makeup of individuals that locate them as male or female. A person’s sex is determined by genetic makeup, internal reproductive organs, the organization of the 4 brain (such as in the control of hormone production), and external genitalia. Alternatively, the behavior of individuals (i.e., masculine and feminine behavior), and the types of roles they assume are a part of “gender”. A person's gender can be expressed through things such as clothing, behavior, choice of profession, and behavior in personal relationships. For example, in American society, females are expected to be nurturing and are generally thought to be better equipped to care for children while males are expected to be aggressive and to make decisions. By distinguishing biological sex from gender it is easier to show that behavior associated with gender is socially learned. Since this project consists of looking at the ways gender socialization (i.e., the process by which one learns gender-related behaviors) takes place in Sunday school classrooms, I believe that a review of social learning theory, social development theory, and situated learning theory will be useful. Social Learning Theory One theory used to explain how children develop