Explaining religious differentials in family-size preference: Evidence from Nepal in 1996

Abstract

We examine how religio-ethnic identity, individual religiosity, and family members' religiosity were related to preferred family size in Nepal in 1996. Analyses of survey data from the Chitwan Valley Family Study show that socio-economic characteristics and individual experiences can suppress, as well as largely account for, religio-ethnic differences in fertility preference. These religio-ethnic differentials are associated with variance in particularized theologies or general value orientations (like son preference) across groups. In addition, individual and family religiosity are both positively associated with preferred family size, seemingly because of their association with religious beliefs—beliefs that are likely to shape fertility strategies. These findings suggest the need for improvements in how we conceptualize and measure supra-individual religious influence in a variety of settings and for a range of demographically interesting outcomes.

Keywords:

• fertility preference
• religion
• Nepal
• South Asia

Notes

1 Lisa D. Pearce is at the University of North Carolina, Hamilton Hall—CB#3210, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3210, USA. E-mail: [email protected]. Sarah Brauner-Otto is at McGill University. Yingchun Ji is at the National University of Singapore.

2 This research was supported by a Mellon Anthropological Demography training grant and an NICHD (Grant No. 5 T32 HD0714-02) Interdisciplinary Training Grant in Demography to the Population Research Institute, Penn State University. Additional support came from NICHD Grant No. R01 HD32912. Special thanks to William G. Axinn, Glenn Firebaugh, Nancy Landale, Hart Nelsen, Ron Rindfuss, Shannon Stokes, and the research staff of the Chitwan Valley Family Study for their contributions to this research. The authors are grateful to the Carolina Population Center for training support (T32 HD007168) and for general support (R24 HD050924).