Religion and Fertility: Will the Religious Inherit the Earth?

No, because religious people don&#x27;t reliably raise religious children. Most current atheists were raised by religious people.<p>It&#x27;s likely been true in the US for decades that the birth rate among religious groups (e.g. Latino people) has been far higher than non-religious groups, but there has still been a stunning decline of religiosity.

&gt; India and Bangladesh, for example, are two countries with fertility rates at or approaching the replacement rate of 2.1. However, both nations are still some of the most religious, conservative, traditional and patriarchal countries in the world.<p>I think the article overlooks that the reasons for declining birth rate in different places are different. Among white Americans and Europeans, declining birth rates are due to post-modern views about families, social obligations, and self determination. In Bangladesh (where I’m from) it’s a matter of population control in a densely populated country.<p>The Islamic mandate to marry and have children is still nearly universal in Bangladesh. Mohammad said: “The best people of my nation (Ummat) are those who get married and have chosen their wives, and the worst people of my nation are those who have kept away from marriage and are passing their lives as bachelors.” Birth rates in Bangladesh didn’t decline because people stopped believing that. My dad worked in family planning in the developed world (I.e. population control) his whole career, including for a planned parenthood affiliate. But he wouldn’t have much common ground with a young American when it comes to the idea that having kids is optional, especially in America, where resources are plentiful.<p>As countries develop economically (and face demographic inversion) I wouldn’t assume birth rates wouldn’t go back up. The US fertility rate got down to 2 in 1940 (likely due to the economic pressures of the Great Depression) before bouncing back to 3.5 in 1960.

&gt; Furthermore, both nations have witnessed significant religious revivalist movements (Hindutva and Political Islam) which has led to a resurgence in religious identity and outward expressions of faith. This, however, has not been able to arrest the general trend of fertility decline. Indians and Bangladeshis are expressing the religious identity more boldly while also having fewer children.<p>But are they the same Indians and Bangladeshis? Instead of just looking at fertility rates at a national level – do Hindutvists and Islamists have as small families as their more politically moderate compatriots?

In the short term- maybe, but in the long term, I don&#x27;t think so. There was a time when the percentage of religious people was virtually 100%, but advances in science have made religious explanations for a lot of things obsolete and that percentage has been steadily falling for decades. Right now religion is most common among people who just haven&#x27;t been exposed to secular explanations for things. As the rest of the world develops and people in all the world&#x27;s nations become better educated, I would imagine that religion would naturally fade away. Of course- conservatives realize this, and that&#x27;s why they are seeking to prevent younger generations from getting too educated, or as they see it, spoiled by the sinful world. But you can&#x27;t have both a modern economy and a deeply religious populace.