The sex of our gods

Ethos • Vol/Iss. 7 • Published In • Pages: 37-50 •
By Carroll, Michael P.

Abstract

This study tests several hypothesis about predictors of male or female gods. Results suggest a relationship between relative emphasis on female deities and rule of descent.

Samples

Sample Used Coded Data Comment
Standard Cross Cultural Sample (SCCS)Other Researchers

Hypotheses (5)

HypothesisSupported
"Patrilineal societies should be more likely than matrilineal societies to give greater emphasis to male deities than to female deities" (41).Not Supported
"Societies characterized by the presence of an organization that tries to coordinate politically autonomous subgroups should give greater relative emphasis to male deities than other societies" (42).Not Supported
"The more the father acts as the parental disciplinarian in a society, the more likely is that society to emphasize male deities" (44).Not Supported
"The more the young males in a society are disciplined by males, the more likely is that society to emphasize male deities" (45).Not Supported
"Among those societies in which parents are the primary agents of socialization, cognatic and double-descent societies should give greater emphasis to female deities than should purely unilineal societies" (48).Supported
Documents and Hypotheses Filed By: Kate Cummings  Megan Farrer