This study investigated the relationship between gender role orientation and spirituality. It was postulated that those individuals with a relatively high degree of both masculine and feminine qualities, that is, individuals with an androgynous gender role orientation, would be more spiritual than those with either feminine (high femininity, low masculinity), masculine (high masculinity, low femininity) or undifferentiated (low femininity, low masculinity) gender role orientations. Support for this hypothesis was derived from Jungian theory as well as from numerous spiritual traditions including Christianity, Gnosticism, Hermeticism, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Taoism.
A sample of 204 adults, all with at least one year of college education, completed the Bem Sex Role Inventory, the Spiritual Orientation Inventory and a questionnaire that inquired as to demographics and whether the subject was involved in a regular spiritual practice. Statistical analyses demonstrated that the subjects with androgynous and feminine gender role orientations did not significantly differ from each other in terms of their spirituality as measured by the Spiritual Orientation Inventory and both groups were significantly more spiritual than those subjects with masculine or undifferentiated orientations. Additional data analyses showed a significantly greater percentage of androgynous subjects engaging in a regular spiritual practice than either the masculine or undifferentiated, but not the feminine, subjects. A multiple regression analysis found both masculinity and, to a greater extent, femininity to be significant predictors of spirituality.
The findings suggest that androgynous individuals are more spiritual than their masculine and undifferentiated counterparts, but are no more spiritual than those with a feminine gender role orientation. However, in light of the limitations of the Spiritual Orientation Inventory, the data are not inconsistent with the view that the spirituality of the androgyne, as compared to that of the feminine individual, may nonetheless be more integrated and actualized in daily life. In order to clarify this issue, it is suggested that the research be replicated with improved measures of spirituality and gender role orientation.
