Patterns of Childlessness among Catholic and NonCatholic Women in the U.S.: A LogLinear Analysis* Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • The principal objective of this paper is to conduct a loglinear analysis of patterns of childlessness among Catholic and nonCatholic women in the United States. We address this issue by examining white women between the ages of thirtyfive and fortyfour, ascertaining whether they are voluntarily, involuntarily, or temporarily childless or childed.Given the longstanding emphasis of the Catholic Church regarding the importance of children in marriage and the family, an emphasis which was not reversed during the Second Vatican Council, we suggest that even after controlling for religious activity and educational attainment, Catholic women should be less disposed than nonCatholic women to choose voluntarily to have no children. We review various aspects of Church doctrine leading to such an hypothesis.Our results do not suggest an end to CatholicnonCatholic differentials in childlessness. Catholic women between the ages of thirtyfive and fortyfour in 1976 were very far apart from nonCatholic women with respect to the voluntary decision to have no children. And they are also very different from nonCatholic women regarding patterns of involuntary childlessness. These differential patterns of voluntary and involuntary childlessness are discussed and analyzed.

published proceedings

  • Sociological Inquiry

author list (cited authors)

  • Poston, D. L., & Kramer, K. B.

citation count

  • 6

complete list of authors

  • Poston, Dudley L||Kramer, Kathryn B

publication date

  • October 1986

publisher