close up photo of mother kissing her baby
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A new study by Cardus, a faith-based Canadian think tank, shows the differences in birth rates between religious and non-religious women.

The study, titled Religion and Fertility in Canada, surveyed 2,700 women. It found that women who are religious have more children—1.8 children on average, compared to 1.3 children for non-religious women.

“That’s a pretty big gap,” said study author Lyman Stone, who is a PhD student at McGill University and director of research at the population consulting firm Demographic Intelligence.

Reasons for the gap include that religious women tend to marry more and earlier than non-religious women. 


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John Longhurst is a freelance religion reporter and columnist for the Winnipeg Free Press. He has been involved in journalism and communications for over 40 years, including as president of Canadian Church...