TY - JOUR TI - ‘It’s all for girls’: re-visiting the gender gap in New Age spiritualities AU - Trzebiatowska, Marta AU - Bruce, Steve TI - ‘It’s all for girls’: re-visiting the gender gap in New Age spiritualities AB - Women’s disproportionate involvement in religion has been the subject of debate in the sociology of religion for some time. In particular, the gender gap in New Age spiritualities appears considerably greater than that found in the congregational sphere of mainstream religion. This article argues that there is nothing in being a woman per se that may attract an individual to certain spiritual activities but rather, that it is the elective affinity between women as a group and such activities that creates the impression of a direct appeal. Much of the holistic spirituality milieu is designed by women for women, not least the most popular elements concerned with healing and well-being. It is therefore possible that the initial gap between men and women is small but it becomes subsequently reinforced and widened due to the gendered nature of alternative spirituality courses, workshops and treatments. VL - 2013 IS - Volume 46, Issue 1 PY - 2013 SN - 0137-2432 C1 - 2084-4077 SP - 17 EP - 33 DO - 10.4467/20844077SR.13.002.1223 UR - https://ejournals.eu/en/journal/studia-religiologica/article/its-all-for-girls-re-visiting-the-gender-gap-in-new-age-spiritualities KW - gender gap KW - New Age spiritualities KW - health-seeking KW - masculinity