Infant Mortality Rates Higher in Areas with More Christian Fundamentalists

Summary: Researchers report in areas with greater numbers of Christian fundamentalists, infant mortality rates are higher than in areas with more mainstream Christians. The study reveals external factors such as lack of social support, birth defects, poverty and lack of insurance, in addition to religious conviction, are the main reasons for the increased mortality rates.

Source: Portland State University.

The odds of an infant dying before their first birthday are higher in counties with greater proportions of conservative Protestants, especially fundamentalists, than in counties with more mainline Protestants and Catholics, according to a new Portland State University study.

The study, published online in May in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, supports the idea that the more insular, anti-institutional culture of fundamentalists can lead to poorer health outcomes.

Ginny Garcia-Alexander, a sociology professor in PSU’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the study’s lead author, examined the influence of religion on postneonatal infant mortality rates, or the number of deaths from four weeks through the first year, using data from 1990 through 2010.

Garcia-Alexander said a leading cause of infant death in the first 28 days is birth defects, which can be heavily influenced by advances in medical knowledge and technology. By contrast, deaths in the next 11 months of life are more often linked to external factors such as poverty, lack of insurance, social support networks and religion.

Garcia-Alexander said the findings mirror trends seen in adult mortality rates, where areas with more mainline Protestants and Catholics had better health outcomes than areas with more conservative Protestants.

The study’s findings build on previous research that says that Catholicism and mainline Protestantism are civically minded, externally oriented faiths that emphasize community-level care. For example, church-affiliated hospitals and social-service providers such as Catholic Charities can bolster the health infrastructure of local communities.

“Both of those have more of a commitment to worldly pursuits,” Garcia-Alexander said. “There is a concerted effort to make inroads with the community that they live in and to do good for the community, both for members and nonmembers alike.”

a baby's feet
Garcia-Alexander said a leading cause of infant death in the first 28 days is birth defects, which can be heavily influenced by advances in medical knowledge and technology. By contrast, deaths in the next 11 months of life are more often linked to external factors such as poverty, lack of insurance, social support networks and religion. NeuroscienceNews.com image is in the public domain.

On the flip side, conservative Protestants, including fundamentalists and Pentecostals, tend to be more insular and are more likely to reject science and health-related resources.

“This is continuing to show us that there are things that we can do in our communities to improve health outcomes,” Garcia-Alexander said. “And to the extent that people who belong to religious organizations are aware of that, knowing that you are a communicator of health information, that can be a really valuable way to harness the power of the group and the community to communicate helpful practices for infant health and public health interventions.”

The study suggests that efforts could be made to implement prenatal and neonatal health promotion programs within congregations. Even in conservative congregations where scientific knowledge might be viewed with some suspicion, the study said the programs can be promoted as a means of caring for mothers, the unborn and newborns.

The study’s other authors were John Bartkowski and Xiaohe Xu from the University of Texas at San Antonio.

About this neuroscience research article

Source: Ginny Garcia-Alexander – Portland State University
Publisher: Organized by NeuroscienceNews.com.
Image Source: NeuroscienceNews.com image is in the public domain.
Original Research: Abstract for “Religion and Infant Mortality in the United States: A Community‐Level Investigation of Denominational Variations in Postneonatal Deaths” by Ginny E. Garcia, John P. Bartkowski, and Xiaohe Xu in Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. Published May 9 2018.
doi:10.1111/jssr.12487

Cite This NeuroscienceNews.com Article

[cbtabs][cbtab title=”MLA”]Portland State University “Infant Mortality Rates Higher in Areas with More Christian Fundamentalists.” NeuroscienceNews. NeuroscienceNews, 29 May 2018.
<https://neurosciencenews.com/infant-mortality-fundamentalism-9165/>.[/cbtab][cbtab title=”APA”]Portland State University (2018, May 29). Infant Mortality Rates Higher in Areas with More Christian Fundamentalists. NeuroscienceNews. Retrieved May 29, 2018 from https://neurosciencenews.com/infant-mortality-fundamentalism-9165/[/cbtab][cbtab title=”Chicago”]Portland State University “Infant Mortality Rates Higher in Areas with More Christian Fundamentalists.” https://neurosciencenews.com/infant-mortality-fundamentalism-9165/ (accessed May 29, 2018).[/cbtab][/cbtabs]


Abstract

Religion and Infant Mortality in the United States: A Community‐Level Investigation of Denominational Variations in Postneonatal Deaths

Although a growing body of research has detected the effects of community‐level religiosity on various health outcomes, very little scholarship has examined the influence of religious ecology on infant mortality rates (IMRs). We conduct ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analyses on postneonatal IMRs (PNIMRs) using county‐level data from the National Center for Health Statistics Linked Birth and Infant Death Data (1990, 2000, and 2006–2010), churches and church membership data, and the Area Health Resource File. We find that while overall rates of postneonatal deaths have decreased over time, the effects of religion on this outcome have become more pronounced. Specifically, we find that counties with greater proportions of mainline Protestant and Catholic adherents exhibit significantly lower PNIMRs. We further find that a greater proportion of conservative Protestants, and especially fundamentalists, increases postneonatal infant mortality. Our findings lend additional support to cultural explanations of U.S. infant mortality.

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