Religious Freedom is Supportive of Higher Fertility
It is difficult to overstate the impact of religiosity (both belief and religious attendance) on birthrates.
The World Values Survey asks respondents “How important is religion to you?” (A common survey question, also used by Pew.)
With more than 60 countries surveyed, one can plot fertility as a function of the share of the population that rates religion as 'very important.' It turns out that the most religious countries in 2023 had a fertility rate that was on average twice as high as the least religious countries!
This holds true on an individual level as well. One reason fertility rates have fallen so far is that people are much less religious than in the past in many countries. This means that countries have a lot to gain by fostering a climate of religious freedom.
Religiosity is not incompatible with progress
Some think religion is a relic of the past, incompatible with high scientific and technological progress. But that ignores history. The UK was much more religious than relatively secular France throughout the 1800s. But it was the UK and not France that brought the world the Industrial Revolution.
Likewise, during the 20th century, the United States was much more religious than most other developed countries in Europe and Asia -- having experienced three Great Awakenings up to 1930. Yet it was the United States that led the way in scientific and technological advancement, much more than any other country.
Religious freedom and pluralism lead to greater population health
With many countries facing demographic decline, it is important to create space for a range of faith groups to flourish because it is these groups within each country that usually have the most pro-natal culture. One reason the United States has a healthier demographic outlook today than either Europe or East Asia has been America's religious tolerance and pluralism. That meant that while certain faith denominations were falling, others were rising to fill the gap.
Meanwhile, many of the countries with the grimmest demographic outlook are former Communist countries where religious practice was intentionally stamped out.
This is a map of countries already facing outright demographic decline.
And below is a map of current and former Communist countries. Although there are some differences, the similarities are remarkable. Notice Eastern Europe and also Cuba in the Western Hemisphere.
The leaders in Communist countries imagined that by repressing religion they were fostering progress. That turns out not to have been true. Economically these countries were basket cases. But in the aftermath of Communism, they have become demographic disaster zones as well. With pronatal religious beliefs and cultures having been pushed out under Communism, many of these countries have seen birthrates drop to very low levels in recent decades. That effect has combined with economic flight, and now countries that rejected freedom are shrinking fast.