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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (17187)	11/22/2003 8:11:57 AM
From: Lane3	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793689

“Secularization has a powerful negative impact on human fertility rates, so the least religious countries have fertility rates far below the replacement level, while societies with traditional religious views have fertility rates two or three times the replacement level.” The author assumes that high replacement levels are a good thing. There seems to be a correlation between that view and religiosity. It would be interesting to try to get inside the implied chicken and egg problem: when the nations of Europe lost their religious faith, did they lose faith in not only heaven and eternity, but also of their culture’s and society’s future, of which the declining birth rate is the symptom? He jumps to this question, neither passing go nor collecting $200. Seems to me that the first question is the optimal population growth rate. Yes, the two issues are related, but he has framed his question on an assumption that is questionable. Perhaps the low growth rate is the better reflection of hope. Or perhaps a recognition that we are running out of fish...<g>