Having Kids: Assessing Differences in Fertility Desires between Religious and Nonreligious Individuals
Although it is empirically established that traditional religion enhances fertility, how it increases childbearing is not clear. This paper is an exploratory qualitative study investigating how religion influences decisions about intended fertility and family size. Most specifically, Michael Emerson...
| Published in: | Christian scholar's review |
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| Authors: | ; |
| Format: | Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
[2018]
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| In: |
Christian scholar's review
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| IxTheo Classification: | AD Sociology of religion; religious policy NCB Personal ethics |
| Summary: | Although it is empirically established that traditional religion enhances fertility, how it increases childbearing is not clear. This paper is an exploratory qualitative study investigating how religion influences decisions about intended fertility and family size. Most specifically, Michael Emerson and George Yancey ask how, if at all, do the religious understand children and family differently. Data from two online surveys with open- and closed-ended questions indicated that while the desire for children by the religious is tied to family expectations and an emotional desire for children, the desire of the nonreligious is tied to the individualistic obligations toward the new humans they bring into the world. They postulate that differing conceptualizations about the meaning of community whereby the religious focus on local communities and the nonreligious focus on global communities, lead to contrasting actions, including the higher fertility patterns of the religious. Their findings have important implications for American Christians as these findings explain more than family patterns but also provide insight into the modern culture war. Polarization between Christian conservatives and secularists in the United States may be partially tied to the differences in the communities where the two groups live. |
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| ISSN: | 0017-2251 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Christian scholar's review
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