Welcome to our Research Project
Across the world, religious people have more children than their secular counterparts. In modern environments, the number of children in a family is inversely related to child success. Yet children born to religious parents often flourish. Why?
We are an international team investigating how religion impacts family size, child health and child success. Our research involves interviewing 8,500 participants about family, religion, support and health from across Bangladesh, India, Malawi, the Gambia, and the United States. This research is part of the ‘John Templeton Foundation’, ‘Templeton World Charity Foundation’, and ‘Templeton Religion Trust’ funded project “The Evolutionary Dynamics of Religion, Family Size, and Child Success. Find more details about how the project is pre-registered on our Open Science Framework page.
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The Project
Core Team
Collaborators
News
Data collection in West Kiang, The Gambia
Data collection in West Kiang, The GambiaBy Anne Cathrine PetersenThanks to our great team in West Kiang, our data collection is progressing well. Here is part of the team: Lamin Sanyang, Tumbulu...
We are seeking participants in Pittsburgh, US
Did you receive a post card in the mail from Penn State?By Anne Cathrine PetersenPenn State University is currently collecting data in Pittsburgh, PA. The Survey Research Center has sent out over...
Kinship and religion: How religion improves relationships with relatives
Kinship and religion: How religion improves relationships with relativesBy Robert LynchMy grandparents were Mennonite farmers from the Ukraine. They emigrated to Canada when they were 11 and 12...
Funding & Collaborations
The project is a collaboration between anthropologists and demographers from five universities: Baylor University, University of Otago, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Pennsylvania State University, and University of Connecticut. The project is funded by the John Templeton Foundation, the Templeton Religion Trust, and the Templeton World Charity Foundation.
The Evolutionary Dynamics of Religion, Family Size, and Child Success
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Open Science Framework
