The Problem of Correlation between Religiosity and Fertility: A Case Study Based on Interviews with Russian Orthodox Priests’ Family Members

Abstract

In the social sciences, the quantitative surveys of the correlation between religion and fertility refer to a rather vague interpretation of certain social norms and fail to analyze their real meaning. This article uses a different strategy. We analyze the above correlation on the basis of long interviews with the members of priests’ families. Based on the methodology of “grounded theory”, the categories of awareness of childbearing and the logic of justification for obstacles to childbirth are highlighted. To demonstrate the logic behind the correlation, three different cases are considered showing how priests and their wives present various types of narratives to expose their positions regarding procreation. The first type is designated as “open-trusting”, the second - “intermediate”, the third - “planning-rational”. In the first case, religiosity, described through the category of “trust in God,” directly correlates with a person’s attitude to the birth of children: a person who uses contraception “trusts God” less, and his connection with God weakens. In the second case, the contraception is seen as permissible but is characterized as “lack of faith” . In the third case, respondents spoke about the influence of religion on everyday life using the categories “high degree of support” and “happiness”, which are associated with an open attitude to childbirth. They also talk about the use of contraception as an action related to the sphere of individual choice. With the help of the categories such as “maturity”, “reasonableness”, “responsibility”, etc., the respondents describe the situation of their family life associated with housing conditions, difficulties of raising their first child, etc. The article then offers a further nuanced discussion of the above correlation.