God as a Man Versus God as a Woman: Perceiving God as a Function of the Gender of God and the Gender of the Participant

Abstract

This study examines the hypothesis that women and men relate differently to a male god-figure and a female god-figure. The participants (281 undergraduates at a large West Coast university in the United States, and 154 undergraduates at a large Midwestern university in the United States, who participated for course credit) wrote fictional stories about an encounter with either a female god or a male god. The stories (N = 435) were then content analyzed for differences in story characteristics as a result of the gender of god. The results indicate significant differences due to both the gender of god and to the gender of the participant. Results indicate that participants writing about a female god were skeptical, but more likely to experience reassurance and comfort. Men were more likely to write action-oriented stories, whereas women wrote feelings-oriented stories.