BYU visitor says nations desperate to arrest falling birth rates need to support religion

KEY POINTS

Religious faith is the countercultural motive for larger families as birth rates plunge.

Countries must prioritize religious values to encourage family growth, researcher suggests.

Belief in children as divine blessings supports higher birth rates among committed couples.

Governments suffering the catastrophic effects of plunging birthrates must light the fire of faith within their borders, a Catholic economist and demographer said Tuesday at a BYU forum assembly.

“The highest motive is to want a child for the child’s own sake. Usually this type of motive is nourished by a living religious tradition,” said Catherine Ruth Pakaluk, a social scientist and economics professor at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

She said choosing to have children, and espe