What the polls tell us about men

  • Romney vs. ObamaThis is my last blog entry before the general election – and polls show a sharp gender divide in the electorate. President Obama leads among women 52 to 44 percent, while Gov. Romney leads among men 51 to 44 percent. These gaps are consistent with prior elections. Women lean Democratic, while men skew Republican. What do these differences tell us about men and women – how they see the world, themselves, and the church?

    The Democratic Party emphasizes the protection of the weak against the strong. It’s a collectivist party that stresses unity and cooperation. It’s a provider party that promises to take from the rich and give to the poor. It’s a preservationist party that promises to stop anything that has the potential to harm individuals or the environment. Democrats are legal pragmatists when it comes to the law and the constitution. And they favor complete female independence (and back it up with government support).

    The Republican Party promotes strength over weakness, and autonomy over dependence. It’s an individualist party that stresses personal achievement. Republicans are less bothered by inequality because they believe poverty can be overcome by effort. It’s a risk-taking party that is willing to roll the dice if it means more prosperity for people. Republicans are rule-of-law constitutional literalists. They favor limits on women’s rights when those rights threaten a larger societal good.

    I’m sure I’ll get flamed over these two lists, but please understand – these are my observations of the narrative each party transmits to the public. Imperfect (or untrue) as these points may be, these two narratives can tell us much about how men and women think – what resonates with them, and even how they approach the church.

    Many congregations behave like Democrats. They stress harmony, fairness and care. They create a safe, loving family experience on Sunday morning. Their ministry emphasis is caring for the weak. Their mindset is collectivist. They are preservationists – guarding the ancient traditions of the church. These congregations are more likely to attract women – particularly older women. (Oddly enough, these churches are often full of reliable Republicans, but that’s fodder for another blog.)

    Other churches create a challenging environment on Sunday morning.  Their ministry emphasis is evangelistic – expanding the message of Jesus into a culture that doesn’t necessarily want to hear it. Their mindset is individualistic, with an emphasis on personal holiness, personal devotions and personal salvation. They stress gender roles and interdependence between men and women. These congregations are more likely to attract men.

    So what kind of church do you attend?  Is your church preservationist or risk taking? Is it caring or conquering? Is it collectivist or individualistic? The answers to these questions will, over the long term, determine the gender makeup of your congregation.

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    November 1st, 2012 | David Murrow | 3 Comments |

About The Author

David Murrow

David Murrow is the director of Church for Men, an organization that helps congregations reach more men and boys. In his day job, David works as a television producer and writer. He's the author of three books. He lives in Alaska with his wife, three children, two grandchildren and a dachshund named Pepper.

  • http://www.facebook.com/jason.hunt.96 Jason Hunt

    From my observations, the distinction is more between liberalism and conservatism. Liberalism is about safety (many times at any cost), whereas conservatism is about individualism, sometimes to a fault.

    That being said, liberals do tend to be Democrats and conservatives tend to be Republican.

  • Byron

    Extremely well written. It is not easy to write a post about political views anymore without disappointing or offending many, but I believe that you wrote an awesome piece that centered around your observations. Good job.

  • Anonymous

    You need to point out that it wasn’t just your average MEN who voted Republican, it was very specifically WHITE men. The polls clearly show that white evangelical men have different values than other people in America. (And their wives appear to be in agreement.) So the Republicans lost: white evangelicals, Mormons, people over 40, and people earning over $100,000 lost.

    This should tell us something very important if we want the next generation to come to our churches. Without young families, our churches die. But those Gen X & Y are changing demographically, and they aren’t quite as conservative as their parents. The next wave of young Protestants also isn’t as white. Asians didn’t even vote for Romney.

    What’s interesting is that white evangelical churches are in serious decline, but Black and Hispanic Protestant churches are not.

    The University of Virginia and Johns Hopkins analysis of white evangelical church decline (“No Money, No Honey, No Church,” pages 8-10 ) suggests that white church is in decline because church attendance for married white men is a badge of respectability, a way of proving to your neighbors that you are now a solid citizen. That sounds fine, but the divorce rate is now 38% for those who attend church services weekly (University of Chicago), and the over-emphasis on marriage-equals-godliness is pushing people out.

    In the past, men were leaving the church, but according to the Barna research over the past 20 years, women are now leaving at a higher rate. (See “20 Years of Surveys Show Key Differences in the Faith of America’s Men and Women.” Men declined by 6 percentage points; women by 11.)

    Black and Hispanic churches aren’t losing ground. They don’t have the country club mentality. For example, “Hispanic churches are less focused on family structure and employment, and more focused on providing a sense of solidarity and practical support to their members, than are non-Hispanic white churches.” ["No Money," p. 8]