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Last broadcast on Mon, 24 Aug 2009, 00:15 on BBC Radio 4 (see all broadcasts).
Synopsis
Tom Rees has conducted research into religion and personal insecurity in 50 countries. Using figures on how much people pray and how unequal income is in each of them, he claims to have found evidence to show that the most religious societies are the most unequal, and concludes the inequality leads to religion. Is it fear and hardship that makes people of one country more religious than another, or is there a mysterious third factor that can explain why some nations pray so much more than others? Laurie Taylor talks to Tom Rees about his findings, and to sociologist of religion David Voas.
What are the key factors the underlie acceptance to Oxford University? New research explores the influence of cultural factors on the decisions that admissions tutors make at the elite university. After allowing for exam results and for cultural knowledge, Alice Sullivan tells Laurie that men were twice as likely to get a Science place than women and that some ethnic minorities faced an even greater disadvantage.
Dr Tom Rees
Dr Tom Rees, Independent researcher and a member of Humanists4Science
Is Personal Insecurity a Cause of Cross-National Differences in the Intensity of Religious Belief?
Journal of Religion and Society (Vol 11 - 2009)
ISSN: 1522-5658
Professor David Voas
Professor David Voas, Simon Professor of Population Studies at the University of Manchester
Dr Alice Sullivan
Dr Alice Sullivan, Research and Training Fellow at the Institute of education, University of London
Elite Higher Education Admissions in the Arts and Sciences: Is Cultural Capital the Key?
Anna Zimdars, Alice Sullivan, Anthony Heath
Sociology, Vol. 43, No. 4, 648-666 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0038038509105413
Broadcasts
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Wed 19 Aug 200916:00
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Mon 24 Aug 200900:15
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