Religion and the Timing of Births in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from Ghana

Baffour K. Takyi, University of Akron
Stephen Obeng Gyimah, Queen's University
Isaac Addai, Lansing Community College

Due in large part to the pervasiveness of religious institutions in Ghana, a growing body of literature has emerged that examines the role of religion in a host of socio-demographic outcomes including contraceptive behavior and the timing of premarital sex. Surprisingly, few analytic studies have examined the relationship between religion and fertility behavior. This study contributes to the discourse on religion by assessing its relationship with fertility behavior using data from 1998 and 2003 Demographic and Health Survey. Employing count data and event history models, we argue that denominational differences in moral proscription as well as pronatalist orientations of religious bodies may differentially impact on fertility behavior. Such differences, however, are hypothesized to be accentuated by what Ali Mazrui calls the "triple heritage" on the enmeshing of Islam and Christianity with traditional African religion.