Differences in fertility rates account for 70 percent of the decline of mainline Protestant church membership from 1900 to 1975 and the simultaneous rise in conservative church membership, the sociologists said.
Actually, I'm a bit skeptical. I believe in the negative impact of birth control absolutely, but the purpose of the study seems to be to deny that "liberal" theology is less attractive than "conservative" theology (to use categories that don't bear much scrutiny). I'm aware of too much anecdotal evidence for me to accept that thesis. The study itself concludes
Higher fertility and better retention thus account for the conservatives' rising share of the Protestant population.Emphasis mine. Then again, since the abandonment of traditional theology certainly accelerated after 1975, maybe we can suspect the absence of a young generation to rear is a cause of the decline? Is the difference in theological approach perhaps attributable to the difference between a generation that is focused on its own ends and one which is trying to rear another generation? Hmmm.
