How Does Religiosity Affect Fertility? A Tale of ‘Two Bengals’

Mary Shenk, The Pennsylvania State University
Saswata Ghosh, Institute of Development Studies Kolkata (IDSK)
Susan Schaffnit, PSU
Rebecca Sear, Brunel University London
Nurul Alam, ICDDR,B
Richard Sosis, University of Connecticut
John Shaver, Baylor University

The relationship between religion and fertility is well-studied, with the general finding that religious affiliation is associated with higher fertility. Yet the relationship between religiosity and fertility is understudied, and there is debate regarding what it is about religion that drives higher levels of fertility—a crucial topic for uncovering the mechanisms underlying the relationship between religion and fertility. Moreover, when religiosity is studied relative to fertility, this has generally been done using only one or two simple measures with little attention to the multiple dimensions of religiosity. This paper uses newly-collected data on over 2,000 women from HDSS sites in Matlab, Bangladesh and Birbhum, West Bengal, India to evaluate 7 theoretically-based dimensions of religiosity. We find that (1) the public practice of religion is associated with higher fertility in both Bangladesh and West Bengal, (2) measures of self-reported religiosity and religious identity are associated with higher fertility in West Bengal, and (3) relationships with people in one’s own and other religions is associated with higher fertility in West Bengal. Our results are consistent with theories that public practice strengthens cooperation and altruism among group members, theories of secularism, and theories emphasizing the effects of marginalization on religious minorities.

Keywords: Fertility, Quantum and tempo effects, Population and Development, Families, Unions and Households

See paper.