Gender Difference and Church Member Satisfaction: An Appraisal.

Abstract

This paper tries to determine both male and female church- attendance trends and to study gender effect, that is, differences between males and female regarding church attendance. It also considers churches as non-profit organizations contending with a mounting problem of male disinterest and disengagement. Based on reports originating in the popular press as well as expert opinion, men are falling away from church involvement in record numbers. A Survey study in Lagos – Nigeria determined that 61% of today's church members are women (Murrow 2005). A number of practitioner books, web-sites, and lay-leader seminars have appeared in recent years with the intent of addressing this issue while offering multiple theories to explain this trend. However, empirical evidence and systematic development of male member profiles that would aid in the development of marketing strategies to better target this group are lacking. This paper begins to address this shortcoming by exploring gender differences in general and male characteristics in particular as they pertain to church satisfaction and involvement.

Gender and Behaviour Vol. 5 (2) 2007: pp. 1433-1442