How Many Kids Do You Have… And Why?

Some time ago I blogged about the “ideal” family size – does it matter how many children a couple has? In it, I took a look how many kids Americans think are ideal and why fertility rates are declining.

A recent article from The Washington Post brought that post to mind because it examines why some couples decide to have larger families.

According to Pew Research Center, 15 percent of all U.S. adults have had four or more children – and, as it might be expected, faith seems to play a role in the size of some families.

For example, members of some religious groups are a little bit more likely to have had at least four children, including 17 percent of evangelical Protestants; 18 percent of Catholics; and 46 percent of Mormons. (However, some religious groups are less likely to have at least four kids, including 9 percent of mainline Protestants and 12 percent of Jews.)

But here’s where it gets interesting: about 12 percent of people who identify as “nones” (no particular religious affiliation) also have had at least four kids. I wonder if the joys and challenges of having a larger family will impact the spiritual lives of this subset in some way.

I’m curious to hear from you: did your faith influence the size of your family? If so, in what way? Let me know in the comments section.