While all the details aren't readily available to me, it appears that according to a study presented at the Assocation of the Sociology of Religion there might be a direct relationship between conservative religious groups and the fertility rate among their members. Mormons and Mennonites had the highest rates, with Church of God (Anderson, IN), Church of The Nazarene, and Pentecostal groups also high. Liberal denominations like the Episcopal Church and Unitarians had the lowest rates. The study's author, Conrad Hackett of Princeton University, suggests it may be because of church's "natalist culture". He finds evidence of this in a correlation with the percentage of women who have a bachelor's degree.
Accurate. Likely. Useless information. Perhaps. But interesting nonetheless.
LINK to a story and commentary from The Henry Institute of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
1 comment:
Consider Europe, I've heard that the birthrate among Europeans is dismally low--they are not even replacing themselves. Whereas the birthrate among Moslems is greater than 2 per family. Over time, without even evangelizing, the Muslim faith could well repopulate Europe.
Yes, it is interesting. See the following quotes:
"All European countries recorded birth rates of more than 1.3 children per woman in 1990, but in 2002, 15 counties had rates below 1.3 children per woman, and six countries had rates between 1.3 and 1.4 children per woman. ... France's birth rate of 1.8 makes it the only European country with the possibility of maintaining its current population through births. "
(From European Birth Rates Reach Historic Low - http://www.pharma-lexicon.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=51329 )
"Among the consequences of Europe's abandonment of its religious roots and the moral code that derives therefrom is a plunge in its birth rates to below the replacement level. Abortion, birth control, acceptance of gay marriage and casual sex are driving the trend. Europe is "committing demographic suicide, systematically depopulating itself," according to Weigel."
(From USATODAY.com - Is God dead in Europe? - http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2006-01-08-faith-edit_x.htm )
"European Muslims do not represent a transient historical phenomenon, and there is no evidence of a decline in their presence. On the contrary, there are many indications that the Muslim presence in Europe will increase. According to European and UN studies, the results of these drastic demographic changes in European countries will play themselves out in the coming decades. Amongst the factors that contribute to this change is the increase in European Muslim birth rates in comparison with those of other groups."
(from IslamOnline - European Muslims - http://www.islamonline.net/English/EuropeanMuslims/Politics/2005/12/07.SHTML )
Regards,
Rich
BlogRodent
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