A new study has contradicted perceptions and recent predictions that Christianity is on a decline and could be dying out, the Christian Post reports.
The study, titled “The Future of Secularism: a Biologically Informed Theory Supplemented with Cross-Cultural Evidence,” suggested that religious people do not advocate the use of contraception so they are having more children than atheists. This lower birth rate would endanger the atheist population in the long run, and would eventually end atheism.
“It is ironical that effective birth control methods were developed primarily by secularists, and that these methods are serving to slowly diminish the proportional representation of secularists in forthcoming generations,” the researchers said.
The Independent UK reports that researchers from the US and Malaysia studied more than 4,000 students about their religious beliefs and how many siblings they had.
The experts found out that Malaysian atheists have 1.5 fewer siblings than the average. In the U.S., the gap was narrower at 0.16. Students who were not affiliated with any religion came from parents who had 3.04 children on average, while the general population had 3.2 children.
“It is ironical that effective birth control methods were developed primarily by secularists, and that these methods are serving to slowly diminish the proportional representation of secularists in forthcoming generations,” the researchers said.
Other studies have shown that both nature and nurture play a great role in influencing a person’s beliefs not only on the divine, but on the world as well. It was discovered that those who believe in a god have certain genes.
According to a report in The Times, people who are more likely to be religious “gained a reproductive advantage – and were better able to spread through the population.”
Sources:
Christianpostcom. (2017). Christianpostcom. http://www.christianpost.com/news/christianity-not-dying-out-but-atheism-is-in-danger-due-to-contraception-study-reveals-177551/
Independentcouk. (2017). The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/atheists-dying-out-contraception-claims-study-a7626846.html
