Religion, Social Change and Fertility Behaviour: A Study of Kerala (An Old & Rare Book)

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Since the demographic studies have very rarely considered religion and caste as major social stratification variables, this book on Religion, Social Change and Fertility Behaviour based on a study carried out in the Travancore region of Kerala is a fascinating and excellent piece of contribution in the field of demography. It attempts for the first time to explain the differential influences of many demo- graphic, developmental and cultural variables that influence social change among different religious groups and also ultimately fertility behaviour.

It is an innovative, theoretical-cum- empirical study valuable for promoting socio- demographic change in many developing regions of the World. The book should prove invaluable for students of Social Sciences, Population and Health Sciences as a reference as well as a text-book for research and teaching.

Dr. (Ms) R. JAYASREE had been working as a Demographer/Social Scientist at the Human Reproduction Research Centre, Jawaharlal Institute of Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Pondicherry. She is a Sociologist, specialised in Population Studies and Women Studies. She has written a number of papers in academic journals and is the co-author of a book, Status of Women and Population Dynamics in Asia along with Prof. K. Mahadevan.

Currently she is working in the faculty of Population Education in Bharathiar University, Coimbatore.

Though the genesis of fertility studies in Kerala goes back to as early as the 1960s, a gap of research still exists on several aspects of fertility to explain the complete determinants of the exceptionally low fertility paradoxically seen in this economically poor state in the Indian Union. No doubt, several of the earlier studies broadly explained a few important determinants of fertility behaviour (Kurup and George, 1965; Nayar, 1974 & 1983; Zachariah, 1983; Nam- boodiri, 1986; Mahadevan, 1986 & 1987). They include widespread education, late marriage, occupational mobility, migration, status of women, modernization and family planning. But these factors had been studied on a random basis in the population, without stratifying the society on the basis of religion, caste, or class. Despite the socialist and communist influence in this state during the last four decades, Kerala society continues to be stratified on the basis of religion, though class distinction has narrowed down very much after independence. Of course, religious differences have not much affected the harmonious way of life of the people. In Kerala, so far, no major research has focussed on the differential influence of the determinants of fertility among the different religious groups. The aim of the present research is to study the determinants of fertility behaviour viz., Age at marriage, contraception, Breastfeeding, Birth interval, socio-economic factors and value of children that influence fertility behaviour, besides social change that happened among the population of the Travancore Region of Kerala in India. These differences were studied across the three major religious groups viz., the Hindus, Muslims and Christians inorder to assess the differential influence of various determinants of fertility among them. Therefore, it is ideal to consider these well known major determinants of fertility along with the new factors across these groups. However, in order to focus the study on a deeper basis only a few crucial variables have been considered for the present.

Population studies continues to depend increasingly on Sociology and other sister Social Sciences for its theoretical basis, methodological applications, adoption of relevant concepts for the study of population phenomena, knowledge for the successful promotion of population control programme and for the improvement of the quality of life of the population in general. The ideas drawn from social sciences make population studies as an applied as well as a dynamic subject for specialised purpose of studying population problem, and for promoting effective and suitable interventions to control the rapid growth of population. Although population studies has become an independent profession in several countries, its dependence on sociology will continue forever. The nature of their dependence however, varies from country to country according to the background of the people who gave leadership to this profession. For instance, population studies continues to remain a sub- discipline of sociology either in the departments of Sociology or in- dependently as in the case of most American Universities, since the leadership for this profession in U.S.A. was given largely by sociologists like Kingsley Davis, Ronald Freedman, Bernard Berelson, Mayon Stycos, Ruben Hill, Krishnan Namboodiri, Everett M. Rogers and several others. Besides sociologists, economists, anthropologists, psychologists, geographers, statisticians, mathematicians and public health personnels also gave a lead to this profession in certain universities in America, Europe and in developing countries.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages