Fertility and Faith

Philip Jenkins is Distinguished Professor of History at Baylor University.

Introduction 1. Fertility and Faith How Changes in Fertility Shape Religious Structures and Behavior Part 1 2. Europe's Revolution The Demographic Revolution Begins 3. Spiritual and Secular The Decline of Europe's Faith 4. The Revolution Goes Global New Patterns of Fertility and Faith Spread Rapidly around the World 5 The United States Between Two Worlds? Part 2 6. Africa High Fertility and Strong Faith 7. Two-Tier Islam Uneven Demographic Transitions 8. Go Forth and Divide Populism, Faith, and Fertility Conclusion 9. Living in a Low-Fertility World Can Religions Adapt to the New Society?

In 'Fertility and Faith', Philip Jenkins lays out a compelling, data-driven, and cogently argued case for the intertwining nature of reproductive rates and the fervency of religious beliefs around the world. Overall, Jenkins shows that higher fertility rates generally correspond to high levels of religious commitment in a society while, conversely, lower fertility rates correlate with lower religous commitment. Rather than stipulate a simplistic cause and effect relationship considering this correlation, the author ably demonstrates that there is in fact a complex web of linkages and cyclical sociological reinforcements. --Michael Nichols, Perdue University "Anglican Theological Review/Episocpal History" Fertility and Faith is a work of remarkable scholarship, amounting to a global overview of both the demographic transition and the decline in religious involvement.... Jenkins gives historians and social scientists plenty to ponder, providing both a remarkable panorama of the woods and an assiduous examination of the trees, displaying the fruits of years of research in a book that is completely accessible to a general audience. It deserves to be widely read. --David Voas "Journal of Church and State" Jenkins makes a clear argument and supports it well with impressive demographic breadth and fascinating historical depth. His contribution is highly relevant and could be crucial to a multidisciplinary hermeneutic for approaching fluctuations in fertility rates--such that policy makers, theologians, students, and scholars of world religion might engage critically with [Total Fertility Rate] trends and projections worldwide. --Lisa Joy Fowler "Reading Religion" An important contribution to the conversation about religion's changing role in society, and one that those interested in demography or contemporary religious life would do well to engage with. --Alexandra Greenwald "Christian Century" ... An important contribution to the conversation about religion's changing role in society, and one that those interested in demography or contemporary religious life would do well to engage with. --Alexandra Greenwald "Christian Century"