Abstract
We use uniquely detailed data from a predominantly Christian high-fertility area in Mozambique to examine denominational differentials in fertility from two complementary perspectives—dynamic and cumulative. First, we use event-history analysis to predict yearly risks of birth from denominational affiliation. Then, we employ Poisson regression to model the association between the number of children ever born and share of reproductive life spent in particular denominations or outside organized religion. Both approaches detect a significant increase in fertility associated with membership in a particular type of African-initiated churches which is characterized by strong organizational identity, rigid hierarchy, and insular corporate culture. Membership in the Catholic Church is also associated with elevated completed fertility. We relate these results to extant theoretical perspectives on the relationship between religion and fertility by stressing the interplay between ideological, social, and organizational characteristics of different types of churches and situate our findings within the context of fertility transition and religious demographics in Mozambique and elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
The total fertility rate is the average number of children a woman would have if she were to experience current age-specific fertility rates and were to survive through the end of her reproductive span.
Following Stark and Finke (2000), we use switching to denote “shifts within religious traditions,” as different from conversions, or “shifts across religious traditions.”
References
Addai, I. (1999). Does religion matter in contraceptive use among Ghanaian women? Review of Religious Research, 40(3), 259–277.
Adegbola, O. (1988). Religion and reproduction of Sub-Saharan Africa. In: African Population Conference, Dakar, 1988. Vol. 1, pp. 2·2.1–2·2.34. International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP), Belgium.
Agadjanian, V. (1999). Igrejas Zione no espaço sociocultural urbano em Moçambique nos anos 1980 e 1990. Lusotopie: Enjeux Contemporains dans les Espaces Lusophones. Paris: Karthala. 415–423.
Agadjanian, V. (2001). Religion, social milieu, and the contraceptive revolution. Population Studies, 55(2), 135–148.
Agadjanian, V. (2013). Religious denomination, religious involvement and contraceptive use in Mozambique. Studies in Family Planning, 44(3), 259–274.
Agadjanian, V., & Menjívar, C. (2008). Talking about the ‘Epidemic of the Millennium’: Religion, informal communication, and HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. Social Problems, 55(3), 301–321.
Agadjanian, V., Yabiku, S. T., & Cau, B. (2011). Men’s migration and women’s fertility in rural Mozambique. Demography, 43(3), 1029–1048.
Anderson, B. A. (1986). Regional and cultural factors in the decline of marital fertility in Western Europe. In A. J. Coale & S. C. Watkins (Eds.), The Decline of fertility in Europe (pp. 293–313). Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Anderson, A. (2000). Zion and Pentecost: The Spirituality and Experience of Pentecostal and Zionist/Apostolic Churches in South Africa. Pretoria: University of South Africa Press.
Anderson, A. (2001). Types and butterflies: African initiated churches and European typologies. International Bulletin of Missionary Research, 25, 107–113.
Anderson, A. (2005). New African initiated Pentecostalism and charismatics in South Africa. Journal of Religion in Africa, 35(1), 68–92.
Avong, H. N. (2001). Religion and fertility among the Atyap in Nigeria. Journal of Biosocial Science, 33(1), 1–12.
Bailey, M. (1986). Differential fertility by religious group in rural Sierra Leone. Journal of Biosocial Science, 18(1), 75–85.
Berghammer, C. (2012). Family life trajectories and religiosity in Austria. European Sociological Review, 28(1), 127–144.
Berhanu, B. (1994). Religion fertility differentials in Shewa, central Ethiopia. Journal of Family Welfare, 40(1), 22–29.
Bouvier, L. F., & Rao, S. L. N. (1975). Socioreligious factors in fertility decline. Cambridge: Ballinger.
Brewster, K. L., Cooksey, E. C., Guilkey, D. K., & Rindfuss, R. R. (1998). The changing impact of religion on the sexual and contraceptive behavior of adolescent women in the United States. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 60(2), 493–504.
Chamie, J. (1981). Religion and Fertility: Arab Christian-Muslim differentials. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Coale, A. J., & Treadway, R. (1986). A summary of the hanging distribution of overall fertility, marital fertility, and the proportion married in the provinces of Europe. In A. J. Coale & S. C. Watkins (Eds.), The Decline of fertility in Europe (pp. 31–181). Princeton: Princeton University Press.
De Vletter, F. (2007). Migration and development in Mozambique: Poverty, inequality and survival. Development Southern Africa, 24(1), 137–153.
Derosas, R., & van Poppel, F. (Eds.). (2006). Religion and the decline of fertility in the Western World. Dordrecht: Springer.
Dharmalingam, A., & Morgan, S. P. (2004). Pervasive Muslim–Hindu fertility differences in India. Demography, 41(3), 529–545.
Freedman, R., Whelpton, P. K., & Campbell, A. A. (1959). Family Planning, Sterility, and Population Growth. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Garenne, M. (2012) Education and fertility in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Longitudinal perspective. DHS Analytical Studies No. 33. Calverton, Maryland, USA: ICF International.
Garner, R. C. (2000). Safe sects? Dynamic religion and AIDS in South Africa. The Journal of Modern African Studies, 38(1), 41–69.
Gifford, P. (1998). African Christianity: Its public role. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Goldscheider, C. (1971). Population, modernization, and social structure. Boston: Little, Brown and Company.
Goldscheider, C., & Goldscheider, F. (1988). Ethnicity, religiosity, and leaving home: The structural and cultural basis of traditional family values. Sociological Forum, 3(4), 524–547.
Goldscheider, C., & Mosher, W. D. (1988). Religious affiliation and contraceptive usage: Changing American patterns, 1955–82. Studies in Family Planning, 19(1), 48–57.
Goldscheider, C., & Mosher, W. D. (1991). Patterns of contraceptive use in the United States: The importance of religious factors. Studies in Family Planning, 22(2), 102–115.
Gregson, S., Zhuwau, T., Anderson, R. A., & Chandiwana, S. K. (1999). Apostles and Zionists: The influence of religion on demographic change in rural Zimbabwe. Population Studies, 53(2), 179–193.
Gutmann, M. P. (1990). Denomination and fertility decline: The Catholics and Protestants of Gillespie County. Texas. Continuity and Change, 5(3), 391–416.
Hayford, S. R., & Morgan, S. P. (2008). Religiosity and fertility in the United States: The role of fertility intentions. Social Forces, 86(3), 1163–1188.
Heaton, T. B. (1986). How does religion influence fertility?: The case of Mormons. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 25(2), 248–258.
Heaton, T. B. (2011). Does religion influence fertility in developing countries? Population Research and Policy Review, 30(3), 449–465.
Herold, J. M., Westoff, C. F., Warren, C. W., & Seltzer, J. (1989). Catholicism and fertility in Puerto Rico. American Journal of Public Health, 79(9), 1258–1262.
Hirsh, J. S. (2008). Catholics using contraceptives: Religion, family planning, and interpretative in rural Mexico. Studies in Family Planning, 39(2), 93–104.
Instituto Nacional de Estatística e Ministério da Saúde. (1999) Inquérito demográfico e de saúde, 1997. Maputo, Mozambique: Instituto Nacional de Estatística and Ministério da Saúde.
Instituto Nacional de Estatística e Ministério da Saúde. (2005) Inquérito demográfico e de saúde, 2003. Maputo, Mozambique: Instituto Nacional de Estatística and Ministério da Saúde.
Instituto Nacional de Estatística e Ministério da Saúde. (2013) Inquérito demográfico e de saúde, 2011. Maputo, Mozambique: Instituto Nacional de Estatística and Ministério da Saúde.
Jayasree, R. (1989). Religion, social change and fertility behaviour: A Study of Kerala. New Delhi: Concept Publishing.
Johnson, N. E. (1993). Hindu and Christian fertility in India: A Test of three hypotheses. Social Biology, 40(1–2), 87–105.
Johnson, N. E., & Burton, L. M. (1987). Religion and reproduction in Philippine society: A new test of the minority-group status hypothesis. Sociological Analysis, 48(2), 217–233.
Johnson-Hanks, J. (2006). On the politics and practice of Muslim fertility: Comparative evidence from West Africa. Medical Anthropology Quarterly, 20(1), 12–30.
Knodel, J., Gray, R. S., & Peracca, S. (1999). Religion and reproduction: Muslims in Buddhist Thailand. Population Studies, 53(2), 149–164.
Kollehlon, K. T. (1994). Religious affiliation and fertility in Liberia. Journal of Biosocial Science, 26(4), 493–507.
Machado, D. C. (1996). Carismáticos e Pentecostais: Adesão religiosa na esfera familiar. Campinas: Autores Associados.
McKinnon, S., Potter, J.E., & Garrard-Burnett, V. (2008). Adolescent fertility and religion in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in the year 2000: The role of Protestantism. Population Studies, 62(3), 289–303.
McQuillan, K. (2004). When does religion influence fertility? Population and Development Review, 30(1), 25–56.
Meyer, B. (2004). Christianity in Africa: From African Independent to Pentecostal-Charismatic churches. Annual Review of Anthropology, 3, 447–474.
Morgan, S. P., Stash, S., Smith, H. L., & Mason, K. O. (2002). Muslim and Non-Muslim differences in female autonomy and fertility: Evidence from four Asian countries. Population and Development Review, 28(3), 515–537.
Mosher, W. D., Williams, L. B., & Johnson, D. P. (1992). Religion and fertility in the United States: New patterns. Demography, 29(2), 199–214.
Mpofu, E., Dune, T. M., Hallfors, D. D., Mapfumo, J., Mutepfa, M. M., & January, J. (2011). Apostolic faith church organization contexts for health and wellbeing in women and children. Ethnicity and Health, 16(6), 551–566.
Parkerson, D. H., & Parkerson, J. A. (1988). “Fewer children of greater spiritual quality”: Religion and the decline of fertility in nineteenth-century America. Social Science History, 12(1), 49–70.
Scheitle, C. P., Kane, J. B., & Van Hook, J. (2011). Demographic imperatives and religious markets: Considering the individual and interactive roles of fertility and switching in group growth. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 50(3), 470–482.
Stark, R., & Finke, R. (2000). Acts of Faith. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Sundkler, B. (1961). [1948] Bantu prophets in South Africa. London: Oxford University Press.
Thornton, A. (1979). Religion and fertility: The case of Mormonism. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 41(1), 131–142.
van de Kamp, L. J., & van Dijk, R. (2010). Pentecostals moving South–South: Ghanaian and Brazilian transnationalism in Southern Africa. In A. Adogame & J. Spickard (Eds.), Religion crossing boundaries: Transnational dynamics in Africa and the new African diasporic religions (pp. 123–142). Leiden: Brill.
Westoff, C. F., & Jones, E. F. (1979). The end of ‘Catholic’ fertility. Demography, 16(2), 209–217.
Yeatman, S. E., & Trinitapoli, J. (2008). Beyond denomination: The relationship between religion and family planning in rural Malawi. Demographic Research, 19, 1851–1882. article 55.
Zhang, L. (2008). Religious affiliation, religiosity, and male and female fertility. Demographic Research, 18, 233–262. Article 8.
Acknowledgments
We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Grant # R01HD050175.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Agadjanian, V., Yabiku, S.T. Religious Affiliation and Fertility in a Sub-Saharan Context: Dynamic and Lifetime Perspectives. Popul Res Policy Rev 33, 673–691 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11113-013-9317-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11113-013-9317-2