Religion and demographic behavior: Upper Kassel, 1670-1810
Horning, E.
Historische Sozialforschung 23(1-2): 275-298
1998
ISSN/ISBN: 0173-2145 PMID: 12178160 Document Number: 276981
"With the sample of a village of 670 inhabitants (1810), it is investigated whether the religious denomination, Catholic or Calvinist, has any influence on the demographic behaviour of a rural population. A well developed knowledge of denominational consciousness was observed; there were few interfaith marriages or conversions and the differences in the naming of children were distinctive. There were not such big differences in the demographic behaviour. As examples, the age at marriage, premarital sexuality (over 20% of births were premarital conceptions) and the number of births were nearly equal. In life expectancy there was a seven year denominational difference. All women were noticeable by their low number of births, high age at marriage and high age at last birth. Family limitation was achieved through birth spacing, particularly by Protestant women after the third child onwards. In sum, a large degree of this rural population's demographic behaviour was observable, but only a few were influenced by denominational or religious norms." (EXCERPT)