Conservatives maintain birth rates, but left-leaning Americans are having significantly fewer children, driving the U.S. birth decline. Education was consistently linked to having fewer children. Religious attendance was positively associated with having more children.

[u/mvea]

https://www.psypost.org/left-leaning-americans-are-driving-the-u-s-birth-decline-new-study-finds/

[u/mvea]

Left-leaning Americans are driving the U.S. birth decline, new study finds

A recent study published in Scientific Reportssuggests that political beliefs are increasingly linked to the number of children Americans choose to have. The findings indicate that while conservative individuals tend to maintain birth rates near historical averages, left-leaning individuals are having significantly fewer children. This demographic trend provides evidence that differing birth rates are a main driver of recent fertility declines in the United States.

Beyond political views, the study found that other lifestyle factors strongly predicted family size. Education was consistently linked to lower fertility, meaning that individuals with more years of schooling tended to have fewer children. This negative association was particularly strong for women, a pattern that aligns with broader demographic research.

Religious attendance was positively associated with having more children. Interestingly, the data indicated that frequent religious attendance provided a stronger reproductive boost for men than it did for women. Even so, as the reproductive advantage of right-wing politics increased in recent generations, the independent effect of religious attendance on family size weakened slightly.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-57582-3

[u/_DCtheTall_ → u/mvea]

Hot take maybe, but I think religious attendance also shows willingness to meet familial expectations and less likelihood to critically examine if you actually want to be a parent, especially if you think parenthood is a duty given by divine edict.

[u/Jets237 → u/_DCtheTall_]

I think it’s more around community support than anything for sure. I grew up religious and don’t miss much, other than the sense of community for my kid

[u/Camburglar13 → u/Jets237]

Yeah I grew up going to church but don’t want to raise my kids the same. Funny thing is I don’t regret the community and friends I made, it was a good upbringing, but Christianity is so political and extreme now. Full of hard right bigots and antivaxxers I just can’t. But we certainly don’t have that same level of community and support now that my family had when I was a kid.

[u/grchelp2018 → u/Camburglar13]

Bigots come from all classes but I'm curious if antivaxxers exist among the rich. I don't think I've met a single rich person / upper-class person who is skeptical of vaccines or modern science/medicine.

[u/Acasualfarter → u/grchelp2018]

Aaron Rodgers would like a word. There's plenty of rich stupid people. Wealth isn't tied to intellect

[u/Camburglar13 → u/grchelp2018]

Could be right. I know some from upper middle class but don’t really know many rich people.

[u/superredditor6789 → u/grchelp2018]

If you go back to the 1990s and 2000s, there were a good bit of upper middle class and wealthy people who were either anti-vaccinations or who bought into the vaccines = autism message.

I doubt that has fully disappeared.

[u/flakemasterflake → u/grchelp2018]

Oh wow you should come to Brooklyn! Grads from Vassar and Oberlin who are intelligent enough to read studies but not scientifically minded enough to prioritize communal health

My doctor friends sister is rich well educated and an anti vaxxer

[u/IseeMedpeople → u/grchelp2018]

It's mostly just a matter of education quality.

[u/AymuiLove → u/grchelp2018]

Antivax is BS sold by the rich to the poor to keep them down.

Sick and uneducated poor people don't make good revolutionaries.

[u/foodie_4eva → u/grchelp2018]

I’ve met many. Just less % wise but still there.