Birth rates are falling. Christians must ‘go forth and multiply’

As Christians, we are familiar with the most important commandment, to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). But are we as familiar with the very first command that he gives to humanity?

In Genesis 1:28 God says to the people he has just created: “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.” God’s first requirement of us is to reproduce. Why? Because human beings are good. God delights in us and has given us work to do, to “Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground” (Genesis 1:28).

Created to create

When we conceive children and raise them as loving parents, we do what we see our heavenly father doing. In Bible times, and in some cultures still today, having lots of children was seen as a sign of blessing and prosperity. And for good reason: having children is essential to our collective future economic security. Without children, who will work the land, produce essential goods, care for the vulnerable or provide for us in old age?

Children are not meant to be an optional extra; they are an essential part of God’s plan for human flourishing. Yet now, for the first time in human history, people are not having enough children. This week, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) published a report highlighting falling birthrates across the world. 

The reason taxes are high, the NHS is struggling and growth is stagnating is simple: our birth rate has been below replacement levels since the 70s

To achieve a stable population, a country needs a Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of around 2.1 children per woman on average. Yet by the end of this century, all but three nations in the world will have below-replacement TFRs. Some countries are already in the advanced stages of decline. South Korea has a TFR of just 0.7 children per woman. Over the next century, the country is set to lose 80 per cent of its population. 

European countries are also in dire straits. Britain’s birth rate is now at a record low, with a TFR of just 1.4 (equivalent to 44 grandchildren per 100 British people). Many countries fare worse, such as Italy (1.2) and Spain (1.1). And it is not only wealthy countries that are experiencing a ‘baby bust;’ India and China have some of the lowest fertility rates in the world.

The myth of overpopulation

Humanity is the best of God’s creation. The fact that the number of children in the world is falling should be a cause of great sadness. Yet many people – including some Christians – think it is a good thing that the global population is declining because of humanity’s impact on the planet. This attitude exposes a belief that humans are somehow ‘bad’ for creation. This is theologically wrong. The idea that creation would be better off without us is at odds with what the Bible says. 

When we look at what mankind has achieved over millennia we have unquestionably made the world a better place. We have brought order out of chaos and built things of great beauty and ingenuity. Yet in recent times these truths have been challenged. In 1968, Paul Erlich published The Population Bomb (Buccaneer Books), warning that unchecked population growth would lead to global catastrophe.  

Children are not meant to be an optional extra; they are an essential part of God’s plan for human flourishing

The book captured the public imagination and the idea of ‘overpopulation’ took hold. Yet the doomsayers couldn’t have been more wrong. Since the 1940s, per capita consumption of food across the globe has risen from 2,000 to 3,000 calories a day. In the 1950s, two thirds of the world’s population were malnourished. That has now fallen to just eight per cent. 

But rather than losing its grip, 20th century fears of overpopulation have morphed into the extreme environmentalism of the 21st century. Of course we should care for our environment. But as Christians, how can we possibly welcome - or even desire - a fall in human fruitfulness?

Anti-humanism

There is an undeniable spiritual thread that connects the campaigns at the heart of the so-called culture war. From abortion to assisted suicide, to pleas to have fewer children in order to “save the planet”, the many issues of this omnicause are just different faces of the same anti-human worldview.  

Falling birthrates are not just a spiritual tragedy; they also threaten economic disaster. Modern financial and pension systems are founded on the assumption that there will be at least enough taxpayers entering the workplace each year to replace those who retire. Yet in the UK, the ratio of 20-year-olds to 60 year-olds has halved over the last four decades. 

The reason taxes are high, the NHS is struggling and growth is stagnating is simple: our birth rate has been below replacement levels since the 1970s, and we are now reaping the whirlwind. Unless we have more children, we can look forward to a future of inflation, shortages and empty playgrounds. 

As the UNFPA report confirmed, the desire to have children has not diminished. But there are many economic, social and cultural hurdles that make it difficult for people to start families. Governments, churches and communities can and must do more to support young couples who are or want to become parents. 

But perhaps first we need to repent, change our minds and accept what the Bible tells us about human beings. Humanity is the pinnacle of God’s creation. Children are a blessing. Go forth and multiply.