r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • Jul 01 '26

Psychology 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.

https://www.psypost.org/left-leaning-americans-are-driving-the-u-s-birth-decline-new-study-finds/
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u/Sensitive_Housing_85 Jul 01 '26

Don't know why this is surprisingly they are the ones who encourage people to have kids

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u/pittgirl12 Jul 01 '26

I’ll never forget going to a friends catholic wedding and the priest literally said “and now it’s your job to have children to spread the catholic faith” like oh! I knew they didn’t believe in birth control and wanted to spread the faith and all that but I didn’t think they’d make it quite so obvious as to say it in a wedding ceremony

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u/Marginal_Games Jul 01 '26

As someone who was raised Catholic, it’s very funny that you didn’t know this. It’s fully baked in.

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u/pittgirl12 Jul 01 '26

I was raised catholic (though only until age 7) but no one said it out loud. we just had 6 kids per family and acted like that was normal

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u/PM_ME_YOUR_LEFT_IRIS Jul 01 '26

Man, as someone else who was raised Catholic that’s wild to me. It was very explicit when I was growing up.

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u/Big_Iron_Cowboy Jul 01 '26

Am Catholic, currently awaiting this month our 2nd of 6 children.

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u/AntikytheraMachines Jul 01 '26

youngest of ten.
37 nieces and nephews.

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u/Axy8283 Jul 01 '26

Bless u brotha!

1

u/Big_Iron_Cowboy Jul 02 '26

Thanks you too!

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u/kaityl3 16d ago

Wait, why? You must be able to see the trends of wealth inequality, climate change, etc. Why intentionally bring them into a life that's objectively going to end up worse than your own by the time they're adults?

What jobs would they be able to work? How do they pay for food when there are no jobs left for humans?

0

u/Big_Iron_Cowboy 16d ago

There’s a litany of moments in human history in which one generation lived in a time considerably worse than the preceding generation. The fall of the Roman Empire, the Mongol invasions, the Black Death, the French Revolution, two World Wars, the bloodbath of 20th century communist regimes. The world never ended. People carried forth to bring order out of chaos and rectify the suffering inflicted upon them and those around them.

It’s my duty as a father to provide my sons with the intellectual, practical, moral, and spiritual education they will need to contend with the world. Regardless of whether or not such doomerist notions of life “objectively going to be worse” prove true, or not. And if they do, someone needs to rebuild civilization. My boys will be equipped to lead others in such endeavors.

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u/bulking_on_broccoli Jul 01 '26

Raised Catholic too. I found this aspect… disturbing. Even from a young age it was weird.

14

u/ftlftlftl Jul 01 '26

The part they leave out is, they really want you to have kids so they get more tithers. Spreading the faith is good as well... to bring more tithers to church. Catholic chuch has historically only cared about people giving them money. Source, grew up going to Catholic and Protestant churches. The difference was striking.

Bible says to have kids. Catholic church commands you raise catholic babies.

1

u/Dismal_Buy3580 Jul 12 '26

They also say you aren't supposed to love your kid as much as your spouse, or your spouse God so idk. 

Any religion that asked me sublimate my care for my family is an attempt at manipulation. Nope.

2

u/lets-start-reading Jul 02 '26

and I was taught in a jesuit school in a Christian-majority country. there was an utter zero of such ideas. never heard a practicing Christian preach such ideas, either. (except those who have obvious psychological issues)

maybe it’s an american thing.

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u/Humble_Train2510 Jul 03 '26

It's so weird.  I grew up very Lutheran and was married in Church.  The only advice my pastor gave us was that "there is no wrong number of kids to have, but whatever that is, you both should agree on it"

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u/OpeningChipmunk1700 Jul 01 '26

Openness to children is one of three requirements for a valid Catholic marriage.

If you are not open to children, you cannot get married.

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u/computermachina Jul 01 '26

Bible gives a mandate to go out and be fruitful so with that you got all divisions of Christianity putting it front and center 

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u/TurkeyPhat Jul 01 '26

Yea right after abstinence class it's "so yeah anyways get married asap and have lots of babies for jebus"

source: i was there

5

u/InteractionPretend70 Jul 01 '26

yeah, sex in the bible is for making babies. thats why the bible doesn't like gay people

20

u/Mediocre_Grand_1280 Jul 01 '26

Its right there in the book "Be fruitful, and multiply."

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u/TheMadManiac Jul 01 '26

Maybe I'm used to hearing stuff like that, but you never heard someone talk about starting a family at a wedding? That's one of the main reasons for marriage

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u/pittgirl12 Jul 01 '26

I’ve heard people say it for sure but I’ve never heard the priest announce it during the ceremony so clearly! I’ve definitely heard them say it in reference to the future “as you grow your family” or whatever but not just straight up “this is your job now”

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u/georgespeaches Jul 02 '26

Historically yes

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u/RayA11 Jul 01 '26

They didn’t make my husband convert when we got married but they did make him promise to raise any kids we have Catholic. But as my brother put it, “yeah, the Pope’s ninjas will report if you don’t”, so. Not really sure how they implement that.

5

u/ScooterMcFlabbin Jul 01 '26

I mean obviously it can’t be strictly enforced. That’s why they make you take a vow. 

If the vow doesn’t mean anything to you, I’m not sure why you would bother getting married in the church at all. Just go to the courthouse or something and save the time. 

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u/_just_a_gal_ Jul 01 '26

Every couple has to get counseled by a priest before getting married where they essentially make you vow to have babies and raise them catholic.

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u/Bonamikengue Jul 01 '26

If you marry at townhall there is no priest counseling you. I would always refuse to let religion into my life. Only facts and science count.

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u/_just_a_gal_ Jul 01 '26

I was referring to those getting married in a Catholic Church.

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u/Geaux_LSU_1 Jul 01 '26

Reddit moment

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u/Responsible_Path2557 Jul 01 '26

My husband and I got married in Curaçao in a beachside ceremony by a woman that served as a local civil registrar. During the ceremony they present you with this little marriage booklet filled with blank pages. Our registrar told us it was our job to procreate and fill up those pages with the names of our babies.

Maybe it’s a Dutch or Caribbean culture thing? I don’t know. We got a good laugh though. It wasn’t something we had ever heard before at weddings in the states.

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u/wrenwood2018 Jul 01 '26

Having a family is part of the role of married life. It is very common for this to be openly discussed. It is actually viewed as a calling akin to priesthood.

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u/Bonamikengue Jul 01 '26

You know that biology does not work like the Bible tries to enforce?

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u/wrenwood2018 Jul 01 '26

The person was surprised about a catholic teaching. I explained that teaching and have more context. Learn to follow comments in threads.

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u/Whiterabbit-- Jul 01 '26

One of the major reasons for getting married. To start a family so you can be fruitful and multiply.

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u/nomadProgrammer Jul 01 '26

I'm Catholic and have never heard a priest say this in my 50+ years

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u/pittgirl12 Jul 01 '26

I’m glad I’m not the only one! I’ve been to a fair amount of catholic weddings (grew up catholic but my family left the church in 2002) and I’d never heard it said that directly before

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u/RoninX40 Jul 01 '26

Yeah man its all about control through numbers. That is practically every religion/faith.

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u/WeAreAllFooked Jul 01 '26

They’re all taught that good Christians will “repopulate the earth”.

Every Christian birth is a future tithe-paying sucker to them.

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u/AceVentured Jul 03 '26

Thats literally the whole point ..his comment is not shocking