between the religious nones and the religiously active Marion Burkimsher Affiliated with the University of Lausanne Data sources Family amp Generations Survey Switzerland 2013 17300 MampW ID: 600463
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Slide1
Differences in expectations and outcomes with respect to childbearingbetween the religious ‘nones’ and the religiously active
Marion Burkimsher
Affiliated with the University of LausanneSlide2
Data sourcesFamily & Generations Survey: Switzerland 2013 (17,300 M&W)Generations and Gender Survey: Bulgaria 2004 (12,900 M&W)
Georgia 2006 (10,000 M&W)Slide3
Introduction to country contextsFertility outcomes by religiosity
Attitudes to childbearing by religiositySlide4
Country contextsSwitzerland: Catholic & Protestant (Reformed) churches roughly equal in affiliates; secularising with increasing % of people with ‘no religion’ (=religious ‘
nones
’); increasing % of other religions from immigration, esp. Muslims
Communist era saw repression / persecution of all religions by Soviet Union (and Russia before in Georgia), although the official Orthodox churches in Bulgaria and Georgia had some autonomy
Bulgaria: Post-communist; traditionally Bulgarian Orthodox church is the national religion; Islam is 2nd formal religion; few Catholics & Protestants; no clear growth or decline in religious attendanceGeorgia: Georgian Orthodox church has seen a strong revival in the post-communist era under patriarch Ilia II: increasing attendance at church services, reflection of nationalist and anti-Russian attitudes. Few affiliated to other Christian denominations; some MuslimsSlide5
Groupings by religion and involvementRegular attender: Attends Christian
religious services at least monthly
(any denomination)
Occasional attender
: Attends a Christian religious service less often than monthly but at least once a yearAffiliated never attends: States they belong to a Christian religion, but attends less frequently than yearly or ‘never’No religion: States they have no religious affiliation
Other
: Affiliated to a non-Christian religion (not included in the main analyses)Slide6
% of each age group who regularly attend Christian servicesSlide7
% of each age group with no religionSlide8
SummaryIn Switzerland older people are more religious than younger people, a similar pattern to most western countries.
In Georgia, the opposite is the case, with young people being much more religious than older people. Almost no-one in Georgia is a religious ‘none’.
In Bulgaria the differentials by age are small, although people in their 20s are slightly less religious than other age groups. The level of religiosity in Bulgaria overall is higher than in Switzerland.
The 70-year-olds in all 3 countries have similar attendance rates!Slide9
% M&W aged 22-60 who regularly attend Christian servicesSlide10
% Men and women aged 22-60 with no religion by educationSlide11
SummaryIn Switzerland the more educated are less
religious
In Bulgaria and Georgia, the
more
educated are more religiousSo does religiosity have any impact on fertility?Is the impact similar for these 3 countries?Slide12
Introduction to country contextsFertility outcomes by religiosity
Attitudes to childbearing by religiositySlide13
Switzerland
Religious affiliation and attendance and number of children
M&W aged 40-60
(born 1953-1973
inc.)Family & Generations Survey 20131.5
1.4
1.9
2.0
2.0Slide14
Bulgaria
Religious affiliation and attendance and number of children
M&W aged 40-60
(born 1944-1964
inc.)Generations & Gender Survey 20041.8
1.9
1.7
1.7
2.3Slide15
Georgia
Religious affiliation and attendance and number of children
M&W aged 40-60
(born 1946-1966
inc.)Generations & Gender Survey 20062.2
2.0
2.0
1.9
2.9Slide16
SummaryIn Switzerland more religious people have significantly more children than the non-religious, who have very low fertility.
In Bulgaria the differentials are small, but the less religious (who have currently completed their childbearing) have slightly larger families than the more religious.
In Georgia the differentials are a bit more marked, with the less religious having larger families than the more religious.
But are these differentials related to the discrimination
faced by the more religious in the communist era?Is it all explained by the educational differentials?Have the differentials changed over time
(older v. younger generations)?Slide17
Relative likelihood of woman being childless, 2 generations
Born in home
country Controlling for education Ref. cat.= Regular
atts
.
Swiss older=55-65 younger=35-45 Bulgaria & Georgia older=50-60 younger=30-40
Switzerland
Bulgaria
GeorgiaSlide18
SummaryIn Switzerland, some devout women in the older generation felt called to a life of celibacy; hence, the group with the lowest level of childlessness is women who are occasional attenders. The same pattern holds for both older and younger generations in Bulgaria.
Even controlling for education, religiosity is a major determinant of childlessness in Switzerland. It has become an even stronger determinant with the younger generation.
In Georgia the opposite is happening. ‘Modern’
behaviour
is to be religious; ‘modern’ behaviour is also having a smaller family; this is a likely explanation of the increasing association of childlessness and greater religiosity.Note: only the Swiss differentials are statistically significant!Slide19
Introduction to country contexts
Fertility outcomes by religiosity
Attitudes to childbearing by religiositySlide20
% of childless M&W aged 18-36 who want no childrenSlide21
SummaryIn Bulgaria and Georgia very few young childless adults state a preference for having no children.
In Switzerland a small but significant proportion of young adults say they want no children.
The less religious have much less desire for children than the more religious. The differentials are very marked in Switzerland but can also be seen in Bulgaria and Georgia.
But why don’t the less religious want children…?Slide22
Different expectations and worries of religious and nones
Imagine you have a(
nother
) child in the next 3 years (even if you can’t have or don’t want one). What effect would it have on different aspects of your life?...
Much betterBetterNeither better nor worse
Worse
Much worse
Ability to do what
you want day-to-day
Professional life
Financial situation
Friends’ opinions of you
Joy and satisfaction with life
Closeness to your partner
Closeness to your parents
Sex lifeSlide23
Different expectations and worries of religious and nones
Imagine you have a(
nother
) child in the next 3 years (even if you can’t have or don’t want one). What effect would it have on different aspects of your life?...
Much betterBetterNeither better nor worse
Worse
Much worse
Ability to do what
you want day-to-day
Professional life
Financial situation
Friends’ opinions of you
Joy and satisfaction with life
Closeness to your partner
Closeness to your parents
Sex lifeSlide24
Different expectations and worries of religious and nones
Imagine you have a(
nother
) child in the next 3 years (even if you can’t have or don’t want one). What effect would it have on different aspects of your life?...
Much betterBetterNeither better nor worseWorse
Much worse
Ability to do what
you want day-to-day
Professional life
Financial situation
Friends’ opinions of you
Joy and satisfaction with life
Closeness to your partner
Closeness to your parents
Sex lifeSlide25
Different expectations and worries of religious and nones
Imagine you have a(
nother
) child in the next 3 years (even if you can’t have or don’t want one). What effect would it have on different aspects of your life?...
Much betterBetter
Neither better nor worse
Worse
Much worse
Ability to do what
you want day-to-day
Professional life
Financial situation
Friends’ opinions of you
Joy and satisfaction with life
Closeness to your partner
Closeness to your parents
Sex lifeSlide26
% who expect greater life satisfaction with a(nother) childChildless M&W aged 18-38 (22-38 CH); M&W with 1 or 2 children aged 18-43 (22-43 CH) Slide27
SummaryYoung adults have more positive expectations regarding childbearing in Georgia v. Bulgaria v. Switzerland.In Bulgaria & Georgia a 1
st
child is more anticipated to bring happiness than 2
nd
, and 2nd more than 3rd. In Switzerland 1st and 2nd are similarly anticipated, but 3rd less so. 3rd children in Bulgaria are not desired: country with highest % 2-child families – strong norm!In Switzerland and Bulgaria the more religious a person is, the more likely they are to expect a child to bring greater satisfaction; the less religious they are, the lower their expectation is of a child bringing more joy.
In Georgia, all groups by religiosity have a high anticipation of a child bringing greater life satisfaction; no differential by religiosity. Slide28
Different expectations and worries of religious and nones
Imagine you have a(
nother
) child in the next 3 years (even if you can’t have or don’t want one). What effect would it have on different aspects of your life?...
Much betterBetter
Neither better nor worse
Worse
Much worse
Ability to do what
you want day-to-day
Professional life
Financial situation
Friends’ opinions of you
Joy and satisfaction with life
Closeness to your partner
Closeness to your parents
Sex lifeSlide29
% who expect to be much poorer with a(nother) child
Switzerland
Bulgaria
GeorgiaSlide30
SummaryGeorgians are much less worried about the financial implications of having a(nother) child – despite their income being generally much lower. Bulgarians think a 3
rd
child would have more financial impact than a 1
st
or 2nd. A 2nd child in Bulgaria is also more of a financial concern than a 1st child. For the Swiss all birth orders are similar.More religious young adults are less concerned about the financial impact of a 1st and 2nd child in all 3 countries. Less religious people worry more about the financial impact of a child. This is especially marked for young adults in Switzerland.
The differentials by religiosity decline with increasing birth order.Slide31
Different expectations and worries of religious and nones
Imagine you have a(
nother
) child in the next 3 years (even if you can’t have or don’t want one). What effect would it have on different aspects of your life?...
Much betterBetter
Neither better nor worse
Worse
Much worse
Ability to do what
you want day-to-day
Professional life
Financial situation
Friends’ opinions of you
Joy and satisfaction with life
Closeness to your partner
Closeness to your parents
Sex lifeSlide32
% who expect worse sex life with a(nother) child
Switzerland
Bulgaria
GeorgiaSlide33
SummaryThe Swiss are very worried about the impact of a child on their sex life; Bulgarians much less so; Georgians hardly at all.
In all 3 countries there is more concern about the impact of having a 3
rd
child than a 1
st or 2nd.Young adults in Switzerland who are less religious worry considerably more about the impact on their sex life of a(nother) child than the more religious. The same is true, though to a lesser extent in Bulgaria.Slide34
ConclusionsOpinions on the pros and cons of having a child are significantly different between countries, and there are differences by birth order (Bulgarians don’t want more than 2 children)
Young adults in Georgia have more positive and less negative expectations about having children than in Switzerland and Bulgaria
More religious people expect children to bring more life satisfaction than less religious people – although there are big country
differentials
Less religious people have more concerns that children will cause financial challenges – in all 3 countries In Switzerland, and to a lesser extent Bulgaria, non-religious young adults worry that a(nother child) could disrupt their sex life, compared to more religious peopleSlide35
Childfree?
Or happy family?Slide36
Thank you!drmarionb@gmail.com