The first command before the Fall--relational and economic--and never negated: "Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”--Genesis 1:28
In an Orthodox Jewish community, kids and baby carriages are everywhere. Double strollers aplenty. Many of the mothers manage households in an organized way you couldn't imagine, while often holding jobs in teaching, social work, etc. Families work as a team, which was especially important during COVID mania.
A tremendous article by Daniel J. Hess! Thank you to Dr. Martin for republishing it! I enjoyed it immensely! The global demographic collapse is just getting worse and worse. The United States, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Chile, Cuba, China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Iran all are seeing their birth rates tumble. Unsurprisingly, religious countries have higher birth rates than secular countries. It is religious communities like traditionalist Catholics, the Amish, Laestadian Lutherans, Orthodox Jews, pious Muslims, and devout Africans who have large families. Religiosity is a strong predictor of fertility whether it be in countries, the U.S. states and individuals. Mr. Hess gives us an example from history. France started secularizing as early as the 1700s and as result, the French population stagnated in the 1800s. While Victorian England, which did not secularize until much later, remained fertile and growing. At the same time, America had extraordinary fertility and grew from 2.5 million people in 1776 to 76 million in 1900, with a backdrop of religious fervor propelled by a series of Great Awakenings. Why does religiosity lead to higher birth rates? For a number of reasons. 1) Religion is a source of transcendent meaning and pronatal belief. Religious people hold beliefs that leads them to have the intention from early on to have a family and bring children into the world. 2) Religion is a cultural bridge between men and women.
Data shows us that women are moving more to the left and men are moving more to the right in the western world. This is a big problem because dating and marriage between people with different political views has become rare and as stigmatized as interracial marriage once was. Online dating makes the situation even worse because it does not allow for real relationships to develop and you have no idea what you're going to get. Religious communities allow for dating for people who have already been pre-screened for common belief and purpose, therefore making it far easier for young people to find a match. Religious couples also have a lot more sex, suggesting greater relationship success and doesn't hurt the business of baby making either. 3) Greater happiness and mental health. Religious people on average are happier, more fulfilled and have been better mental health outcomes than their secular counterparts. 4) Faith communities are a social network that makes it easier to raise kids. They create thick support networks of like-minded families. Childcare help by other families also known as alloparenting, is a big reason why religious people have higher fertility rates. Studies also show that having children is socially contagious. If a woman sees all her friends having children, she will desire to have children to.
5) Faith groups confer status on mothers and big families that the rest of society does not. Motherhood is celebrated like religious groups like the Amish and the Haredi. It is considered high-status in these religions to have big families. Secular countries can also have high birth rates if their national culture celebrates having children. Israel and Mongolia are great examples of this. These facts are why we need for organized religion to make a comeback in the West, Asia and Latin America. The United States of America, Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand need to be re-Christianized. China's fertility rates would be greatly helped by a resurgence of Confucianism and the growth of Christianity in the country after the eventual fall of the CCP. Latin America should also be re-Christianized. Christianity should be spread to East Asia and Iran. Buddhism needs to reform and incorporate pro-natal teachings. In every western country, left-wing political parties to open their doors to religious people and incorporate pro-natalism into their platforms. After Communism is eliminated in Cuba and Miguel Diaz-Canel is toppled, Cuba should have a massive resurgence in Catholicism. The United States, Great Britian, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, France, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Russia, China, Japan, and South Korea should all adopt a national culture that celebrates and encourages big families.
Renewing my mind with God's truth that children are a blessing and His reward from the Planned Parenthood lies that children are a burden and a commodity to be planned led to our family having six children (plus 4 in heaven through miscarriage). The homeschool movement in the 1980's through the early 2000's produced many large families. Ours was one of the smaller ones. Another great awakening would turn this birthrate around quickly provided the next generation caught the vision.
The first command before the Fall--relational and economic--and never negated: "Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”--Genesis 1:28
Indeed, repeated expressly to Noah after the Flood (Gen. 9).
In an Orthodox Jewish community, kids and baby carriages are everywhere. Double strollers aplenty. Many of the mothers manage households in an organized way you couldn't imagine, while often holding jobs in teaching, social work, etc. Families work as a team, which was especially important during COVID mania.
This is exactly why Israel is the only industrialized country whose TFR is above replacement rate.
In the US, orthodox communities are bursting at the seams. Here's one yeshiva:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRh1PW4ht1w
It sends graduates into the world to start and staff institutions all over. One of my sons is a leader here: https://www.stlkollel.com
https://www.stlkollel.com/eishes-chayil
His wife heads up the local early childhood program:
https://www.torahprep.com/our-philosophy
A tremendous article by Daniel J. Hess! Thank you to Dr. Martin for republishing it! I enjoyed it immensely! The global demographic collapse is just getting worse and worse. The United States, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Chile, Cuba, China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Iran all are seeing their birth rates tumble. Unsurprisingly, religious countries have higher birth rates than secular countries. It is religious communities like traditionalist Catholics, the Amish, Laestadian Lutherans, Orthodox Jews, pious Muslims, and devout Africans who have large families. Religiosity is a strong predictor of fertility whether it be in countries, the U.S. states and individuals. Mr. Hess gives us an example from history. France started secularizing as early as the 1700s and as result, the French population stagnated in the 1800s. While Victorian England, which did not secularize until much later, remained fertile and growing. At the same time, America had extraordinary fertility and grew from 2.5 million people in 1776 to 76 million in 1900, with a backdrop of religious fervor propelled by a series of Great Awakenings. Why does religiosity lead to higher birth rates? For a number of reasons. 1) Religion is a source of transcendent meaning and pronatal belief. Religious people hold beliefs that leads them to have the intention from early on to have a family and bring children into the world. 2) Religion is a cultural bridge between men and women.
Data shows us that women are moving more to the left and men are moving more to the right in the western world. This is a big problem because dating and marriage between people with different political views has become rare and as stigmatized as interracial marriage once was. Online dating makes the situation even worse because it does not allow for real relationships to develop and you have no idea what you're going to get. Religious communities allow for dating for people who have already been pre-screened for common belief and purpose, therefore making it far easier for young people to find a match. Religious couples also have a lot more sex, suggesting greater relationship success and doesn't hurt the business of baby making either. 3) Greater happiness and mental health. Religious people on average are happier, more fulfilled and have been better mental health outcomes than their secular counterparts. 4) Faith communities are a social network that makes it easier to raise kids. They create thick support networks of like-minded families. Childcare help by other families also known as alloparenting, is a big reason why religious people have higher fertility rates. Studies also show that having children is socially contagious. If a woman sees all her friends having children, she will desire to have children to.
5) Faith groups confer status on mothers and big families that the rest of society does not. Motherhood is celebrated like religious groups like the Amish and the Haredi. It is considered high-status in these religions to have big families. Secular countries can also have high birth rates if their national culture celebrates having children. Israel and Mongolia are great examples of this. These facts are why we need for organized religion to make a comeback in the West, Asia and Latin America. The United States of America, Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand need to be re-Christianized. China's fertility rates would be greatly helped by a resurgence of Confucianism and the growth of Christianity in the country after the eventual fall of the CCP. Latin America should also be re-Christianized. Christianity should be spread to East Asia and Iran. Buddhism needs to reform and incorporate pro-natal teachings. In every western country, left-wing political parties to open their doors to religious people and incorporate pro-natalism into their platforms. After Communism is eliminated in Cuba and Miguel Diaz-Canel is toppled, Cuba should have a massive resurgence in Catholicism. The United States, Great Britian, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, France, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Russia, China, Japan, and South Korea should all adopt a national culture that celebrates and encourages big families.
Renewing my mind with God's truth that children are a blessing and His reward from the Planned Parenthood lies that children are a burden and a commodity to be planned led to our family having six children (plus 4 in heaven through miscarriage). The homeschool movement in the 1980's through the early 2000's produced many large families. Ours was one of the smaller ones. Another great awakening would turn this birthrate around quickly provided the next generation caught the vision.
Amen and amen.