Volume 19 - Article 55 | Pages 1851–1882  

Beyond denomination: The relationship between religion and family planning in rural Malawi

By Sara Yeatman, Jenny Trinitapoli

Abstract

Despite the centrality of religion and fertility to life in rural Africa, the relationship between the two remains poorly understood. The study presented here uses unique integrated individual- and congregational-level data from rural Malawi to examine religious influences on contraceptive use. In this religiously diverse population, we find evidence that the particular characteristics of a congregation—leader’s positive attitudes toward family planning and discussion of sexual morality, which do not fall along broad denominational lines—are more relevant than denominational categories for predicting women’s contraceptive use. We further find evidence for a relationship between religious socialization and contraceptive behavior.

Author's Affiliation

• Sara Yeatman - University of Colorado Denver, United States of America EMAIL
• Jenny Trinitapoli - University of Chicago, United States of America EMAIL

Other articles by the same author/authors in Demographic Research

Sibling support and the educational prospects of young adults in Malawi
Volume 30 - Article 19

Women’s health decline following (some) unintended births: A prospective study
Volume 45 - Article 17

Mobile phones, digital inequality, and fertility: Longitudinal evidence from Malawi
Volume 42 - Article 37

The Malawi Religion Project:: Data collection and selected analyses
Volume 21 - Article 10

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