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In Georgia, a Religiously-Inspired Baby Boom? | Institute for Family Studies

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In 2007, Patriarch Ilia II of the Georgian Orthodox Church made a decision: facing a country with a declining population, low birth rates, and high abortion rates, the church leader announced that he would personally baptize and become godfather to any third-or-high Orthodox child born to a married couple in Georgia and formally registered with the government. Georgia is almost 90% Georgian Orthodox, Patriarch Ilia II is widely trusted and respected, and Georgians are the most likely of any Orthodox-majority country to say their religion is about personal faith. In other words, Georgia is an ideal test-case to see if national leaders can use social or cultural capital to effect targeted social changes. Since the first mass-baptisms in late 2007, Ilia has baptized over 30,000 babies, about 5.8% of the total births in Georgia over that time, or about 34.5% of the third-or-higher births, so his baptisms are of a demographically-significant scale. Recently, I wrote about how using financia

In Georgia, a Religiously-Inspired Baby Boom? | Institute for Family Studies 3 days and $5,108 to meet our appeal goal! Donate Now --> Donate To Our Appeal Home Blog Women In Georgia, a Religiously-Inspired Baby Boom? Women Fertility Public Policy Politics Relationships Society & Culture Politics Politics In Georgia, a Religiously-Inspired Baby Boom? Lyman Stone October 11, 2017 Share Highlights Print Post --> Georgia is an ideal test-case to see if national leaders can use social capital to effect social changes. Post This Births spiked in Georgia following a popular religious leader's pro-fe

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