Fertility and Faith

Demography drives religious change. High-fertility societies, like most of contemporary Africa, tend to be fervent and devout. The lower a population's fertility rates, the greater the tendency for people to detach from organized or institutional religion. Thus, fertility rates supply an effective gauge of secularization trends. In Fertility and Faith , Philip Jenkins maps the demographic revolution that has taken hold of many countries around the globe in recent decades and explores the implications for the future development of the world's religions. Demographic change has driven the secularization of contemporary Western Europe, where the revolution began. Jenkins shows how the European trajectory of rapid declines in fertility is now affecting much of the globe. The implications are clear: the religious character of many non-European areas is highly likely to move in the direction of sweeping secularization. And this is now reshaping the United States itself. This demographic revolution is reshaping Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, and Judaism. In order to accommodate the new social trends, these religions must adapt to situations where large families are no longer the norm. Each religious tradition will develop distinctive emphases concerning morality, gender, and sexuality, as well as the roles of clergy and laity in the faith's institutional structures. Radical change follows great upheaval. The tidal shift is well underway. With Fertility and Faith , Philip Jenkins describes this ongoing phenomenon and envisions our collective religious future.

Fertility and Faith is a work of remarkable scholarship, amounting to a global overview of both the demographic transition and the decline in religious involvement.... Jenkins gives historians and social scientists plenty to ponder, providing both a remarkable panorama of the woods and an assiduous examination of the trees, displaying the fruits of years of research in a book that is completely accessible to a general audience. It deserves to be widely read.--David Voas "Journal of Church and State", Jenkins makes a clear argument and supports it well with impressive demographic breadth and fascinating historical depth. His contribution is highly relevant and could be crucial to a multidisciplinary hermeneutic for approaching fluctuations in fertility rates--such that policy makers, theologians, students, and scholars of world religion might engage critically with [Total Fertility Rate] trends and projections worldwide.--Lisa Joy Fowler "Reading Religion", An important contribution to the conversation about religion's changing role in society, and one that those interested in demography or contemporary religious life would do well to engage with.--Alexandra Greenwald "Christian Century", ... An important contribution to the conversation about religion's changing role in society, and one that those interested in demography or contemporary religious life would do well to engage with.--Alexandra Greenwald "Christian Century"

Philip Jenkins is Distinguished Professor of History at Baylor University.