Preliminary communication
https://doi.org/10.5613/rzs.45.3.2
Why Do Protestants Have More Children Than Catholics? Analysis of Religious and Socio-Cultural Influences on Fertility in Europe
Krunoslav Nikodem
; Department of Sociology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, Croatia
Silvija Bunjevac Nikodem
; Dragutin Tadijanović Primary School, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
The main objective of this paper was the analysis of fertility on a collective level of a selected number of European countries by religious affiliation. The basic assumption was that fertility is a complex phenomenon that is related to a number of social, economic, demographic, psychological, political, and technological processes and changes. The theoretical frame was built around sociological and demographic theories that investigated relations between religiosity and fertility. Empirically, the paper is based on the analysis of the European Values Study 2008/2009 data set, which included data from 47 European countries (N = 67,492). Selection and grouping of those countries was made according to the criteria of predominant religious affiliation (Protestant, Catholic, and secularized). The authors tested five hypotheses that linked fertility to: religiosity in the broader sense, socio-demographic and socio-political characteristics, social capital and the perception of personal well-being, attitudes towards gender roles, and attitudes towards children, marriage, and family. Results indicated that the most important predictors of fertility were certain socio-demographic characteristics (age, size of the location of residence, and formal education), while religiosity and other predictors accounted considerably less for variations in fertility.
Keywords
Protestants; Catholics; religiosity; fertility; Europe
Hrčak ID:
158570
URI
Publication date:
31.12.2015.
Visits: 2.587 *