Religion’s influence on fertility expectations : contemporary evidence from a multi-religious society

• Main Authors: Tan, Matthew, Lian, Huiting, Han, Alicia
• Other Authors: School of Humanities and Social Sciences
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences::Economic theory
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/59300
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This paper examines the effect of religious affiliation and religiosity on fertility expectations of local undergraduates in the multi-religious state of Singapore. It finds that Singaporean Buddhist and Protestant Christian undergraduates desire significantly fewer children than the benchmark group without religious beliefs. The difference in fertility expectations between the remaining religious groups and the benchmark group is not statistically significant. This can be intuitively explained by Singaporean Buddhist and Protestant Christian undergraduates prioritizing alternative motivations such as career aspirations over starting a family. It also finds that an individual’s weekly number of hours committed to religious activities – a proxy for an individual’s level of religiosity, has a significant positive effect on fertility expectations. This result suggests that individuals more connected with their respective religious teachings are less motivated by material goals, rather choosing to embrace non-material pursuits. Key words: Religious affiliation, religiosity, fertility, multi-religious, Singapore