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

Abstract

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