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Religiosity, nationalism and fertility in Israel

Religiosité, nationalisme et fécondité en Israël

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Abstract

The present paper seeks to re-evaluate explanations for the apparently high level of Jewish fertility in Israel. We suggest that previous explanations, based on ethnic origin or religiosity, are sociologically incomplete, and substitute well established empirical correlational associations for theoretically grounded explanations. We argue that Israel's high fertility stems, directly, from the form and salience of nationalist sentiments in the Israeliconscience collective, which in turn derives from Israel's special position in the Middle East and in the world-economy. Using voting returns from Israel's proportional vote elections, we classify census statistical areas by religiosity and their support for radical nationalist parties. We show that area-level fertility is a function of nationalist support and the area standard of living, and that once these are controlled the effect of religiosity is insignificant. We therefore conclude that the statistical association between fertility and religiosity in Israel is spurious, and that much of the religiosity recorded in fertility surveys is an expression, in consciousness and in the mode of daily living, of a strongly felt nationalist sentiment.

Résumé

Cet article cherche à réévaluer les explications données du niveau manifestement élevé de la fécondité des Juifs en Israël. Nous suggérons que les explications données antérieurement, basées sur l'origine ethnique ou la religiosité sont incomplétes du point de vue sociologique et substituent des associations par corrélation empiriquement bien établies à des explications fondées sur une théorie. Nous soutenons que la fécondité élevée en Israël est directement issue de la forme et de l'effet des sentiments nationalistes dans laconscience collective israélienne, qui, à son tour, tire son origine de la position particulière d'Israël dans le Moyen Orient et dans l'économie mondiale. Utilisant les résultats d'élections à vote proportionnel en Israël, nous classifions les aires statistiques censitaires par leur religiosité et par leur soutien aux partis nationalistes radicaux. Nous montrons que la fécondité au niveau de ces aires est fonction du soutien nationaliste, ainsi que le niveau de vie dans ces mêmes aires, et que l'effet de la religiosité, lorsque les autres caractéristiques sont contrôlées, est insignifiant. Nous en concluons donc que l'association statistique entre fécondité et religiosité en Israël est incorrecte, et que la plus grande partie de la religiosité recueillie dans les enquêtes sur la fécondité est une expression, dans la conscience et dans le mode de vie quotidien, d'un sentiment nationaliste profondément ressenti.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Work, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, 84 105, Beer Sheva, Israel

    Jon Anson

  2. Department of Geography and Environmental Development, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, 84 105, Beer Sheva, Israel

    Avinoam Meir

Authors
  1. Jon Anson
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  2. Avinoam Meir
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The author is also affiliated with the Negev Centre for Regional Development, Ben Gurion University of the Negev.

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Anson, J., Meir, A. Religiosity, nationalism and fertility in Israel. Eur J Population 12, 1–25 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01797163

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01797163

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