The researchers concluded that atheists are gradually "dying out". The reason for this is not only culture, but also previously unexplored genetic factors.
It is a well-known fact: in many backward countries, whose inhabitants are deeply religious, there is an increase in population. At the same time, developed countries, a significant part of whose population does not believe in God, are gradually dying out. Thus, in conventionally atheistic Sweden, there are 1.91 children per woman, which is less than the required minimum to maintain the size of the indigenous population (for this, the coefficient should be 2.1).
However, now scientists from the United States and Malaysia have decided to test the fertility of believers and atheists using the example of the same country. A total of 4 thousand people were interviewed. Young people were asked to answer questions regarding whether they have brothers and sisters, as well as the religion to which they consider themselves (or do not rank). It turned out that 1.5 fewer children are born in atheistic families in Malaysia than the national average. For the United States, however, this connection was not so pronounced. While 3.04 children were born in atheist families, the average for the entire population was 3.2 children.
In other words, atheists are gradually “dying out”, while the percentage of believers in the structure of the population, on the contrary, is increasing. It is noteworthy that the reason for all this, according to scientists, lies not only in upbringing and cultural characteristics. The researchers believe that this demographic dynamics is also due to some genetic factors that contribute to greater religiosity. In other words, at a certain stage the believers "had an advantage in reproduction, which means that they could spread with great success." Many questions related to this aspect are likely to be answered in the future.
Ilya Vedmedenko