Author and pastor Kevin DeYoung offered a biblical perspective on declining birth rates across the globe in his April 7 Drummond Lecture in Christ Chapel entitled “Family, Civilization, and the Church: The Christian Case for Getting Married and Having Children.”
“The most significant thing happening in the world today is quite likely the thing not happening in the world today: men and women are not having children,” DeYoung said. “The human race seems to have grown tired of itself.”
DeYoung is on the Gospel Coalition council and is a senior pastor of Christ Covenant Church in North Carolina. He is the author of several books, including “Crazy Busy: A Mercifully Short Book About a Big Problem” and “What Does the Bible Really Teach About Homosexuality?” DeYoung serves as an associate professor of systematic theology at Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte.
DeYoung cited the data that tracks the Total Fertility Rates of women in different countries. The TFR is the total number of children the average woman from a certain country will have in her lifetime. DeYoung said as long as a country’s TFR is around 2.1, the country is considered to be at a good rate of replacement.
“As recently as 2007, the United States had a TFR of 2.1, while the European Union had 1.6. But since then, the U.S. birth rate has fallen by 20% — as low as 1.73, according to some estimates,” DeYoung said.
The United States is now far below the rate of replacement, according to DeYoung, meaning that unless something changes, the country’s population will begin to shrink.
“At no time in human history have human beings been having fewer children than they are now,” DeYoung said. “In most countries, the number of births per woman is well below the replacement rate. In fact, unless you are in Africa, you are most certainly in a country with a replacement rate that is not being met by the current fertility numbers.”
The answer, DeYoung said, is not to start having as many children as possible with whomever is willing and able. Instead, DeYoung said, it should be to place an emphasis on building stable families that are able to flourish.
“Humanly speaking, there is nothing more important for personal well-being, positive social behavior, and general success in life than being raised by one’s biological parents committed to each other in a stable marriage,” DeYoung said.
In today’s culture, DeYoung said, getting married young is often discouraged. DeYoung said this has catastrophic effects on the culture, including fewer children. DeYoung emphasized how a marriage can grow with young people and can be a sanctifying experience for both man and wife.
“Recall that the Bible never says ‘Thou must finish all of your graduate degrees before marriage’ or ‘backpack through Europe before marriage’ or ‘make time to binge watch Netflix before marriage,’” said DeYoung.
Not only is having children good for society and for the individual, DeYoung said, it also carries on one’s legacy and leaves an indelible mark on the world.
“It is not just an act of dogged obedience to have children, or even simply an act of faith,” DeYoung said. “It is an act of transcendence.”
The talk struck a chord with several students at Hillsdale such as freshman Sophia Bryant.
“It’s a good reminder of values I’ve held my whole life and why I hold them,” Bryant said.
Freshman Ross Phelps said the talk made him rethink what he wanted his future family to be like.
“When you grow up with one or two siblings, you see yourself having one or two kids,” Phelps said. “You don’t think you’re going to expand upon much more than what your parents had. I’d say if anything convicted me from the lecture, it was that maybe I should expand my horizons when it comes to my expectations for the number of children I’ll have.”
