Religious conservative sexual norms serve demographic group survival

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 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Costly religious requirements directly explain group longevity in communes; Religious affiliation predicts above-replacement fertility independent of income and education; Religious fundamentalism’s demographic growth will reshape the secular West (+3 more)

Related

• Religious groups offset secularization losses through higher birth rates (similarity 0.92)
• Religious affiliation predicts above-replacement fertility independent of income and education (similarity 0.89)
• Religious belief correlates with higher fertility, shrinking secular populations (similarity 0.89)
• No non-religious population has sustained above-replacement fertility for a century (similarity 0.88)
• Religious doctrines that boost fertility outcompete rival religious groups demographically. (similarity 0.87)
• Religious groups expand through higher fertility rates, not just persuasion (similarity 0.85)
• Dramatic demographic expansion is what makes a religion a world religion (similarity 0.84)
• Group cultural dominance depends on conversions and fertility, not just longevity (similarity 0.84)
• Religious fertility advantages are culturally transmitted, not genetically fixed (similarity 0.83)
• Levirate polyandry preserved clans against male infertility (similarity 0.82)
• More religious societies have higher fertility than equally wealthy secular ones. (similarity 0.81)
• Religious fundamentalists may outcompete secular liberalism through reproduction (similarity 0.81)
• Cultural evolution favors religious groups that maximize reproduction (similarity 0.81)
• Religiosity is only one factor impacting fertility rates, and is intertwined with educational opportunities, economic development, and age of marriage amongst other factors. (similarity 0.81)
• Religious population growth follows age structures, with Christianity aging out already in Europe. (similarity 0.80)

Broader Connections

• Religious groups offset secularization losses through higher birth rates #expands (0.85) — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 630
• White nationalists believe this increase in switching to religiously unaffiliated causes lower fertility and birth rates for Western women. William Kilpatrick writes that ‘The decline of… #expands (0.80)