More women leaving the church than men, says research

The gender gap is closing between men and women church attendees, and this is because more women are leaving the church, according to a study.

The study, called "The Gender Gap in Religion Around the World" and released by Pew Research in March, showed that the gender gap among those who attend worship services has narrowed in the last few decades.

From 1972 to 1974, 36 percent of women and 26 percent of men said they attend worship services once a week. In the 1980s, the 10 percent gap grew to 13 percent. However, it began to decrease as the years progressed.

In the 1990s, the number of people attending worship services has decreased, but more women stopped attending church than men, thus making the gender gap narrower. In 2010, only 28 percent of women and 22 percent of men said they regularly attend church, and the 10-point gap from the early 1970s went down to six points.

Why are women leaving the church? The researchers have several theories.

One theory is that their work could be affecting their participation in the church. The research showed that the gender gap is smaller between men and working women in church, while it is bigger between men and women who are not working.

The study also showed that gender gaps in the importance of religion and in prayer commitment are lower in countries where more women are working.

Another theory for the narrowing gender gap among church attendees is that women's increasing educational attainment has affected their religious commitments. However, there was a decline in church attendance observed in both college-educated women and women with less education.

The "nones," or those who do not affiliate themselves with any religion, have also increased in recent years, from only eight percent in the 1990s to 21 percent in 2014. This could have contributed to the narrowing gender gap in church attendance, the research said.

One important thing to note is that women who have stayed in the church have not wavered in their devotion and commitment to serve and pray.