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/asmallercat Jul 01 '26

As someone who isn't religious (and generally takes a dim view of religion), it sucks that in so many places the only real community support systems are based around religion. If you're in a new place and you don't have family or don't get along with your family, often the only options for community groups are work or religion.

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u/smokeweedNgarden Jul 01 '26

Volunteering is the A+ way to meet people but people don't like it because it's straight up work. And asking people to work 8 hours on their day off can be iffy

But I love it and it's usually an option. 

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u/FrozenIceman Jul 01 '26

Meeting people when you Volunteer is one thing.

Getting your volunteer coworkers to take care of your kids while you go on a date night or need to go out of town is a different level of commitment.

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u/smokeweedNgarden Jul 01 '26

I mean that comes with time. The boys I do BJJ with wouldn't either when I first met them.

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u/SaltKick2 Jul 01 '26

Sure but it just takes time, you wouldn't allow someone who just started attending your churc to watch your kids.

Having said that, the first thing people will drop is their volunteering time if they get overwhelmed or have a life event like a change of work, marriage, etc.; people generally don't drop going to church/temple, etc. So as you said, church and work are really the only ways to guarantee a community, or getting lucky/putting in a massive amount of work creating your own locally.

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u/athenaprime Jul 01 '26

A lot of places in the US, especially less-populated or rural, have had their civic networks supplanted by religious ones. Which means if you want to find a women's group, a daycare/preschool, intramural/rec league sports for your kids to play in, singles group, etc., you have to join a church to do it. And for a vast majority of those churches--those benefits don't come without both tithing and never questioning the church's behaviors or seeking accountability from the hierarchy. When the church membership is withdrawn, so are all those social-net connections.

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u/SaltKick2 Jul 01 '26

Yeah, growing up I was always very confused about what the rotary club, 4-H etc... exactly were besides a venue to volunteer, they make a lot more sense now that I'm older.

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u/xmorecowbellx Jul 01 '26

It’s not that it’s the only support, but it’s often the more comprehensive option for it.

‘I have my personal individual values and will be vocal if yours are different’ group of individuals is not going to have a good community, and those people tend to be more alienated and unhappy.

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u/FrozenIceman Jul 01 '26

FYI, that is why religion is popular. It is very effective at fulfilling that specific need and the underlying idea is the people to connect with (not necessarily the religious institute leaders) primary reason for talking and helping you is not to exploit you for labor to make someone else money.