this post was submitted on 17 Oct 2023
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My understanding is that there's a trend in fundamental Christianity, here in the US anyway, where people think it's their duty to have as many children as possible. That said, there's also a good chunk of people who come from those upbringings who become very progressive minded, defeating the whole effort.
That is a thing in all abrahamic religions because what i heard is that Jews and Muslims also think is their duty to god to be “fruitful” and multiply.
Note: I put fruitful in quotation marks because that is the biblical term
Sounds right. I'm just referring to fundamentalist Christians in particular because they're the sort I see in the US that push the concept. Most other people seem to aim for 2-3 as the ideal number of kids, or don't want any. Or they just don't plan one way or the other.
This belief came about simply because the religious sects that didn't promote reproduction died out.
For instance, Paul the Apostle advocated that celibacy was superior to marriage. Since early Christianity was an apocalyptic branch of Judaism that believed the end of the world would happen within believers' lifetimes, Paul considered it most important for believers to maintain absolute purity in preparation for judgement.
When that judgement day didn't come in time, sects that were celibate would obviously grow slower and be outcompeted by sects that advocated childbirth. This has created the religious landscape today, where new children are the predominant way religions grow.
I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy: