The Influence of Religion and Family Values on the Fertility of Refugees in Hanover

Karina Hoekstra , Leibniz Universität Hannover
Arend Grüneberg, Leibniz University of Hanover

Due to the increase in the number of asylum seekers in recent years, refugee research is currently of great interest in Germany and Europe. Here we investigate the fertility of refugees in Hanover and how it is influenced by the religion and the family values in context with the second demographic transition theory and the theory of planned behavior. The survey examined 692 refugees from the Arab and North African regions, where the majority of the interviewees with 63.4% were Muslims and 11.1% were Christians. The analysis showed that the assumption derived from the theory that Muslims have a higher fertility than members of all other religions can be confirmed for these data. The assumption that family values or the importance of the family have an influence on fertility can be confirmed statistically, but with 0.041 the measured effect is small. Based on the results and regarding the theory of planned behaviour one can state that the fertility behaviour is shaped by both the attitude towards the importance of the own family and the subjective norms incorporated by the religion. The development of the fertility of the refugee population in the coming years will be an aspect of great interest both for research and, in particular, for German society.

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 Presented in Session P3. Poster Session Migration, Economics, Environment, Methods, History and Policy