Religious groups offset secularization losses through higher birth rates

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

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

Categorization

• CANDY: The paradox that the most secular societies have the fewest children is a compact, tweetable counterintuitive fact.
• ADDENDUM: Directly feeds the analytical bridge: demographic renewal as a mechanism sustaining religious solidarity across generations.
• XREF: Supplies the concrete demographic mechanism the reader can weigh against the Big God partner-choice analysis: reproduction as a low-configuration survival channel. — connects to: Religious affiliation predicts above-replacement fertility independent of income and education; Religious fundamentalism’s demographic growth will reshape the secular West; Dramatic demographic expansion is what makes a religion a world religion (+7 more)
• QUESTION: Worth chasing: does the demographic advantage hold among big prosocial religions specifically, or across all religious groups equally?
• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 630

Broader Connections

• Fertility and age structure dwarf conversion in shaping religious demographics. #expands (0.90) — Margaret Hodson, Baby Jihad, 34
• Religiosity is only one factor impacting fertility rates, and is intertwined with educational opportunities, economic development, and age of marriage amongst other factors. #qualifies (0.85)
• Secular institutions, atheist prevalence, and religiosity decline reinforce each other in a self-amplifying loop #qualifies (0.80) — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 315
• Strong secular welfare institutions make religion socially unnecessary. #corroborates (0.75)