Reviving the Demographic Study of the Amish.
Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies
Colyer, Cory, Cory Anderson, Joseph Donnermeyer, Rachel Stein, and Samson Wasao. 2017.
5(1):96-119.
Birth Rates, Contraception Usage, and Demographic Data Relating to the Beachy Amish-Mennonite Churches
Working paper, updated in 2010. Original version: Harrisonburg, VA: James Madison University.
Anderson, Cory. 2005.
Research Points
- Calculates Beachy Amish-Mennonite’s annual sample crude birth rates since 1973; reaching a high of 41 in 1998, rates dropped steadily to a low of 26 in 2008, suggesting underlying societal changes
- Surveys of Beachy Amish-Mennonite adolescents and other qualitative resources are used to test Coale’s three preconditions for fertility decline: personal choice (vs fatalism), cost of children, and contraception access/mastery
- Results suggest that Beachys view (1) fertility as a personal choice but God can intervene; (2) children as valued (sibling interactions and pleasure of children) but ability to provide financially and emotionally checks pronatalism; and (3) contraception as a moral concern, especially if triggering abortion, but some forms for limiting children may be acceptable.
- Beachys have partly satisfied Coale’s three preconditions for fertility decline but more research is needed
Access Related Content From The Project: "Population Structure—Fertility, Mortality, Composition"
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