Differences Between Religious and Secular Women Students in Judging Processes

Abstract

This study examined the differences between religious and secular women in the process of judging a dramatic, complex event from a structural viewpoint, both multidimensional (large number of causes and effects, causes in different categories, large number of actors) and one-dimensional. The event was the evacuation of the Israeli settlements from the Gaza Strip, which took place in Israel in 2005. The participants were 244 Jewish women students, self-defined as religious or secular, who reported negative emotions in relation to the evacuation. Despite differences between the religious and secular women in the content and intensity of the emotions aroused, differences were not found in the pattern of connections (i.e. the structure) between the variables in the model. That is to say, the difference in the respondents’ political or religious tendencies did not affect their judgment structures. We also found that a multidimensional perception of the event will tone down the severity of the judgment, regardless of the judge’s views regarding the content of the event.