The Population Decline Thoughts

 

This morning, I watched a compelling conversation between the demographer Stephen Shaw and the hosts of Triggernometry. I recommend people listen to or watch it. They discussed the declining birth rate and the impact it will have on future generations. It is a sensitive topic because it involves family formation, but we need to discuss it nonetheless. I have several thoughts on this topic. I'm going to outline some of them.

1) This is a cultural issue, and policy can do very little to assuage the birth decline. We have the technology (birth control) now and have had it for over half a century to prevent births. The genie is out of the bottle. I don't see us going backwards technology-wise.

There is an increasing cultural view that marriage and kids are a heavy burden and not worth the investment. It's becoming less rare to hear about the positives of parenthood. That is something we CAN tackle as a society, but it will be a big endeavor. It involves a candid discussion on a very sensitive topic. As an American, I can say we are not very good at that. I will note this is a worldwide issue (very few regions are seeing an increase in birth rates).

2) As a believer, it also got me thinking about what the Church can do about this issue. I think the Church can do a better job supporting marriage and parents. We need to emphasize the importance of marriage and family. One thing Mr. Shaw mentioned is that we are going to see an increase in older, childless people. We need to think in advance about how we can support them and what potential needs they might have.