Religious affiliation predicts above-replacement fertility independent of income and education

Evidence

Nevertheless, it is far from clear to me that secular societies will win the race for cultural longevity. On one hand, we have the powerful forces of secularization gaining ground in some places—more economic prosperity, greater existential security, strong secular institutions, and mass exposure to higher learning, science, and analytic thinking. This means that people in these societies are on the verge of moving beyond prosocial religions. But prosocial religions have one crucial advantage over secular ones—the demographic windfall of more children. And that religious advantage is the secularists’ Achilles’ heel—in fact, the most secularized societies are having the fewest children. This means that what prosocial religious groups lose against the forces of secularization, they gain in reproduction. — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 630 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Religious belief correlates with higher fertility, shrinking secular populations; Fertility and age structure dwarf conversion in shaping religious demographics. — Margaret Hodson, Baby Jihad, 34; Religious conservative sexual norms serve demographic group survival (+2 more)

Related

• Religious belief correlates with higher fertility, shrinking secular populations (similarity 0.92)
• No non-religious population has sustained above-replacement fertility for a century (similarity 0.90)
• Religious conservative sexual norms serve demographic group survival (similarity 0.89)
• Religious groups offset secularization losses through higher birth rates (similarity 0.88)
• Religious affiliation raises fertility even after controlling for education and income (similarity 0.86)
• Religious fertility advantages are culturally transmitted, not genetically fixed (similarity 0.84)
• Religious worship frequency linearly predicts higher fertility across 82 countries (similarity 0.84)
• Religious disaffiliation is intertwined with economics and education, not merely a demographic cause. (similarity 0.84)
• Religious groups expand through higher fertility rates, not just persuasion (similarity 0.83)
• Dramatic demographic expansion is what makes a religion a world religion (similarity 0.83)
• Religiosity is only one factor impacting fertility rates, and is intertwined with educational opportunities, economic development, and age of marriage amongst other factors. (similarity 0.83)
• More religious societies have higher fertility than equally wealthy secular ones. (similarity 0.82)
• Religious doctrines that boost fertility outcompete rival religious groups demographically. (similarity 0.81)
• Religious population growth follows age structures, with Christianity aging out already in Europe. (similarity 0.80)
• Religiously affiliated women outbreed the nonaffiliated in Switzerland (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Religious belief correlates with higher fertility, shrinking secular populations #corroborates (0.85)
• Religious groups offset secularization losses through higher birth rates #corroborates (0.85) — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 630
• Fertility and age structure dwarf conversion in shaping religious demographics. #qualifies (0.80) — Margaret Hodson, Baby Jihad, 34
• Religious conservative sexual norms serve demographic group survival #expands (0.80)