A cross-national study of the impact of religiosity and gender equality on fertility intention and its realization
The role of religiosity and gender in shaping fertility decisions has been the subject of many studies in recent years. This literature has highlighted an interesting conundrum, however. While religiosity has a positive effect on fertility, partly through the promotion of traditional gender roles, gender equality has been found to have a positive – rather than negative – impact on fertility. We address this ambiguity in the effect of religiosity and gender roles by examining their specific effects on fertility intention and realization. We do so by using data from the first and second wave of the Generations and Gender Survey (GGS) and construct separate logistic regression models for five European countries (Austria, Bulgaria, France, Georgia and Russia). We construct models on the influence of religiosity, gender attitudes and the gender distribution of household tasks on the intention to have a(nother) child as well as the realization of positive (plan to have a child) and negative fertility (plan to not have a child) intentions. Our findings suggest that, regardless of the country context, religiosity and gender roles appear to have an independent impact on fertility intentions and their realization.