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Is Buddhism the low fertility religion of Asia?

Author

Listed:
  • Vegard Skirbekk

    (Folkehelseinstituttet (Norwegian Institute of Public Health))

  • Marcin Stonawski

    (Center for Advanced Studies of Population and Religion (CASPAR))

  • Setsuya Fukuda

    (National Institute of Population and Social Security Research)

  • Thomas Spoorenberg

    (United Nations)

  • Conrad Hackett

    (Pew Research Center)

  • Raya Muttarak

    (International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA))

Abstract

Background: The influence of religion on demographic behaviors has been extensively studied mainly for Abrahamic religions. Although Buddhism is the world´s fourth largest religion and is dominant in several Asian nations experiencing very low fertility, the impact of Buddhism on childbearing has received comparatively little research attention. Objective: This paper draws upon a variety of data sources in different countries in Asia in order to test our hypothesis that Buddhism is related to low fertility. Methods: Religious differentials in terms of period fertility in three nations (India, Cambodia and Nepal) and cohort fertility in three case studies (Mongolia, Thailand and Japan) are analyzed. The analyses are divided into two parts: descriptive and multivariate analyses. Results: Our results suggest that Buddhist affiliation tends to be negatively or not associated with childbearing outcomes, controlling for education, region of residence, age and marital status. Although the results vary between the highly diverse contextual and institutional settings investigated, we find evidence that Buddhist affiliation or devotion is not related to elevated fertility across these very different cultural settings. Conclusions: Across the highly diverse cultural and developmental contexts under which the different strains of Buddhism dominate, the effect of Buddhism is consistently negatively or insignificantly related to fertility. These findings stand in contrast to studies of Abrahamic religions that tend to identify a positive link between religiosity and fertility.

Suggested Citation

  • Vegard Skirbekk & Marcin Stonawski & Setsuya Fukuda & Thomas Spoorenberg & Conrad Hackett & Raya Muttarak, 2015. "Is Buddhism the low fertility religion of Asia?," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 32(1), pages 1-28.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:32:y:2015:i:1
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2015.32.1
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    1. Vegard Skirbekk & Michaela PotanÄ oková & Conrad Hackett & Marcin Stonawski, 2018. "Religious Affiliation Among Older Age Groups Worldwide: Estimates for 2010 and Projections Until 2050," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 73(8), pages 1439-1445.
    2. David de la Croix & Clara Delavallade, 2018. "Religions, Fertility, And Growth In Southeast Asia," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 59(2), pages 907-946, May.
    3. Sam Hyun Yoo & Victor Agadjanian, 2021. "The paradox of change: Religion and fertility decline in South Korea," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 44(23), pages 537-562.
    4. Donata Bessey, 2018. "Religion and Fertility in East Asia: Evidence from the East Asian Social Survey," Pacific Economic Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(3), pages 517-532, August.
    5. Ryohei Mogi & Albert Esteve & Vegard F. Skirbekk, 2022. "The Decline of Spanish Fertility: The Role of Religion," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 38(5), pages 1333-1346, December.
    6. Barbara S. Okun, 2017. "Religiosity and Fertility: Jews in Israel," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 33(4), pages 475-507, October.
    7. Yu-Hua Chen & Chin-Chun Yi, 2021. "An Exploration of Individual, Familial, and Cultural Factors Associated with the Value of Children among Taiwanese Young Adults," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 14(2), pages 487-510, April.
    8. Dayuan Xie & Yonghong Zhou, 2022. "Religion effects on fertility preference: evidence from China," Journal of Population Research, Springer, vol. 39(3), pages 341-371, September.
    9. Premchand Dommaraju & Shawn Wong, 2023. "Transition to first marriage in Thailand: cohort and educational changes," Journal of Population Research, Springer, vol. 40(1), pages 1-16, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Asia; religion; fertility; childbearing; Buddhism;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

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