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The United States, like many other countries, is experiencing declining birth rates. One contributing factor is the growing number of people who have abandoned religion, according to population and religion experts quoted by Newsweek.
There are numerous reasons for reduced fertility worldwide. Newsweek has previously reported on economic pressures that make parenthood difficult, policy changes aimed at encouraging higher birth rates, and cultural shifts affecting young people, couples, and families.
“Secularization is another factor in falling fertility both here in the United States and across much of the globe,” says demographer William B. Wilcox, director of the National Marriage Project and a professor of sociology at the University of Virginia.
America’s current projected fertility rate—1.6 births per woman over the next three decades—is below the 2.1 required for population stability without immigration. According to Pew’s 2024 Religious Landscape Study, which surveyed more than 35,000 Americans in all 50 states, nonreligious people now account for 29% of the national population, up from 16% in 2007.
Meanwhile, 62% describe themselves as Christian and 7% belong to other religions. Among weekly-attending religious Americans, fertility rates have never dropped much below two children per woman. Less-than-weekly-attending Americans average around 1.7 births, while nonreligious Americans average less than 1.5.
Regular attendance in faith communities supports families and fertility, as Nicholas H. Wolfinger, a family sociologist, explains. “Fertility is featured in the doctrine of all Abrahamic faiths,” he says. “But for religion to affect family behavior, you have to walk the walk: regular participation in your faith through attending services matters.”
Wolfinger adds that while correlation does not equal causation, other major reasons for declining fertility rates include economic pressures and cultural shifts.
Family economist Kasey Buckles notes that support systems provided by faith communities make it easier for families. “When nuns’ hospitals and schools closed in Europe, Catholic fertility decreased dramatically,” she says.
Without such support, young people may find parenthood too costly without a strong community network or other institutions like public education. Claudia Goldin’s research suggests that women with strong labor market prospects but traditional gender roles often see motherhood as a bad deal due to the “second shift” at home.
Religious communities also encourage earlier marriage and better-quality matches, leading to higher odds of births. Religious people receive more help with childcare from family, friends, and coreligionists.
Lyman Stone, director of the Institute for Family Studies’ Pronatalism Initiative, notes that secular societies can’t replicate these effects because religious communities see themselves as quasi-kin bound in transcendent communities.
However, some nonreligious groups maintain high fertility rates due to strong ethnic ties. For example, Roma populations in central and Eastern Europe typically have total fertility rates at or above the replacement level of 2.1.
Stone also cites communism’s success in boosting birth rates through solidaristic messaging aimed at state/class solidarity.
To encourage higher birth rates, many advocates call for family-friendly policies such as more parental leave, accessible child care, gender equality, and affordable housing. Countries like France or the Nordic nations that have sustained or moderately increased birth rates do so by investing in these areas, creating an enabling environment where people feel secure about having children.
These long-term confidence-building measures are crucial in shaping fertility decisions.
📚 Reading Comprehension Quiz
According to the passage, which group has the lowest fertility rate among those discussed?
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