title: Beyond Denomination: The Relationship between Religion and Family Planning in Rural Malawi.
abstract: Despite the centrality of religion and fertility to life in rural Africa, the relationship between the two remains poorly understood. The study presented here uses unique integrated individual and congregational level data from rural Malawi to examine religious influences on contraceptive use. In this religiously diverse population, we find evidence that the particular characteristics of a congregation-leader's positive attitudes toward family planning and discussion of sexual morality, which do not fall along broad denominational lines-are more relevant than denominational categories for predicting women's contraceptive use. We further find evidence for a relationship between religious socialization and contraceptive behavior.
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Department of Health and Behavioral Sciences, University of Colorado at Denver, Tel: +1 303 556-3555.
authors.forename: Sara E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Yeatman
authors.forename: Jenny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Trinitapoli
references.citation: Stud Fam Plann. 1997 Dec;28(4):290-307
references.pmid: 9431650
references.citation: Med Anthropol Q. 2006 Mar;20(1):12-30
references.pmid: 16612991
references.citation: Stud Fam Plann. 2000 Sep;31(3):239-51
references.pmid: 11020935
references.citation: Soc Sci Med. 2005 Oct;61(7):1529-39
references.pmid: 15869833
references.citation: Demography. 1984 May;21(2):185-91
references.pmid: 6734857
references.citation: J Biosoc Sci. 2008 May;40(3):445-58
references.pmid: 18190730
references.citation: Stud Fam Plann. 2001 Jun;32(2):95-110
references.pmid: 11449867
references.citation: Demography. 1990 Aug;27(3):475-81
references.pmid: 2397825
references.citation: Stud Fam Plann. 2004 Dec;35(4):275-90
references.pmid: 15628785
references.citation: Demography. 1997 Nov;34(4):443-54
references.pmid: 9545624
references.citation: Demography. 1992 May;29(2):199-214
references.pmid: 1607048
references.citation: Demography. 1997 Aug;34(3):369-83
references.pmid: 9275246
references.citation: Stud Fam Plann. 1991 Mar-Apr;22(2):102-15
references.pmid: 1858103
references.citation: Stat Med. 1991 Feb;10(2):161-75
references.pmid: 2052797
references.citation: Demography. 2001 Feb;38(1):43-58
references.pmid: 11227844
references.citation: Soc Forces. 2008;86(3):1163-1188
references.pmid: 19672317
references.citation: Stud Fam Plann. 1982 Jun-Jul;13(6-7):179-89
references.pmid: 7112629
references.citation: Popul Stud (Camb). 2006 Jul;60(2):205-21
references.pmid: 16754252
references.citation: Popul Stud (Camb). 1999 Jul;53(2):179-93
references.pmid: 11623883
references.citation: Demography. 2002 Nov;39(4):713-38
references.pmid: 12471851
references.citation: Demography. 1996 Feb;33(1):1-11
references.pmid: 8690134