Why Does America Have a Fertility Crisis? 1 in 3 Young Adults Don’t Have Kids and Don’t Want Them

Thirty percent of Gen Zers and Millennials neither have nor want to have children, according to a survey by The Independent Center, published Saturday by Newsweek. This represents a generational departure from a historic norm — indeed, from the social norm that makes both history and generations possible. “Families are the building blocks of the church and nation-state,” exclaimed Meg Kilgannon, senior fellow for Education Studies at Family Research Council.

The Independent Center, which advocates for “centrist independent voters,” conducted the survey among 1,200 likely voters under age 46 from October 18 to 22. It defined Gen Zers as people born between 1997 and 2012 and Millennials as people born between 1981 and 1996. American citizens born by November 5, 2006 are old enough to vote in Tuesday’s election.

The survey found that 30% of young voters did not have or want to have children, 62% said they had or wanted to have children, and 9% said they were unsure.

What makes this result surprising is that, without overriding factors at play, people tend to adopt the customs, attitudes, opinions, mannerisms — you name it — of their parents. But not having or wanting to have children is, by definition, not something that 30% of young adults picked up from their parents. This provokes a question, how did they come to this opinion?

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Unfortunately, this way of reporting the data makes the results a little vague. There are surely some parents who didn’t want to have kids, and some childless people who would like to have children. The benefit of reporting the data in this way is that it isolates the number of young adults likely to never have children, unless their opinions change. But, by conflating the fact of parenthood with the wish for parenthood, Newsweek makes it hard to say anything with certainty about either, and the full survey results do not appear to be publicly available yet.

Causes

However, Newsweek does attempt to provide reasons for this desire for childlessness. Another question in the survey found that 23% of Millennials and Gen Zers “believed having children was irresponsible because of climate change,” compared to 60% who disagreed and 17% who weren’t sure. They quote sociology professor Amy Blackstone, who wrote a book titled “Childfree by Choice: The Movement Redefining Family and Creating a New Age of Independence,” who said that Millennials “are concerned about the impact of humans on our climate.”

Besides climate ideology, Blackstone said another reason people choose childlessness is as an expression of individualism. “Many childfree people are beginning to view their status as nonparents as a part of their identity that shapes their experience in society,” she said citing social media trends using the hashtag #childfree.

This reason seems to have greater explanatory power. As Christian scholar Carl Trueman has persuasively argued, expressive individualism is the dominant worldview of our time and place. This worldview, argues that “everybody is ultimately defined by an inner core of feelings that they have, and authenticity is found by being able to express those feelings outwardly.” From this definition, it’s not hard to see how this worldview fuels transgender ideology, but it also has other faces.

Childlessness by choice is apparently another expression of this worldview. If someone does not feel like becoming a parent, it argues, then they shouldn’t be forced to become one. This application is informed by a negative view of parenthood that stresses the expense, sacrifice, and difficulty instead of the joy, accomplishment, and fulfillment. This negative view is prominent in news media, entertainment, education, and elsewhere. It is an assumption behind women being urged to pursue their careers now and wait to start a family later, or men complaining about child support payments.

The reason why expressive individualism is the more persuasive reason is that it connects this opinion closer to home. Millennials and Gen Zers probably didn’t grow up with parents who didn’t want to have children (although some probably did), but they almost certainly grew up with parents who encouraged them to be whoever they wanted to be, as defined by their inner feelings. This message was reinforced through secular curriculum in school and entertainment role models like Simba from “The Lion King.” They didn’t necessarily develop the negative view towards children right away — that would get added later in the “finishing school” of a social-media-crazed culture.

Consequences

The same forces that suppress the benefits of parenthood also minimize the consequences of childlessness. A major consequence is personal: who is going to take care of you in old age? Being childless might seem fun and convenient when you’re 30. But, 50 years later, the childless — now with fading abilities, memories, and mental faculties — will have no kin to manage their bills, protect them from predatory scammers, or visit them in nursing homes. What will they do then?

Another consequence is social. If a significant number of Americans decide not to have children — as the data suggest they are — the result will be a shrinking population. That means a declining tax base, which means less ability to meet the burden of funding pensions for an aging population. That also means shrinking cities and towns, full of empty homes, bankrupt businesses, and all the social problems like crime that come along with those problems.

A third consequence is demographic. Some people have convinced themselves the only way to save the planet is to not have any children. But the truth is, that only eliminates their future impact on the planet — for good or ill. In 100 years, the people who will have an impact on the planet are the ones who have children, who have children, who have children. Those who don’t have children will likely have no impact beyond their lifetime — unless they can convert the children of others to their sterile way of thinking. People who start families and raise their children are literally building a legacy that will, likely, outlive them.

These consequences all focus on the future. But what about the present? The truth is, married fathers and mothers are more likely to be happy than their unmarried or childless peers.

According to the 2022 General Social Study, 35% of married fathers were “very happy,” 49.3% were “pretty happy,” and 15.7% were “not too happy.” Of married men without children, only 29.8% were “very happy,” 51.1% were “pretty happy,” and 20.2% were “not too happy.” Of unmarried men without children, only 13.8% were “very happy,” 64.8% were “pretty happy,” and 21.9% were “not too happy.”

Among married women with children, 39.5% were “very happy,” 47.6% were “pretty happy,” and 12.9% were “not too happy.” Of married women without children, 24.7% were “very happy,” 59.3% were “pretty happy,” and 16.0% were “not too happy.” Of unmarried, childless women, 21.5% were “very happy,” 53.8% were “pretty happy,” and 24.6% were “not too happy.”

For both women and men, those with children but unmarried were the least happy. The takeaway seems to be not that children cause unhappiness — rather the opposite — but that trying to raise children as a single parent is a huge burden.

Perhaps some people sincerely believe that remaining #childless is a part of their identity they wish to wear as a badge. Sadly, the reality is that they are denying themselves the opportunity to be even happier.

The Flip Side

The number of young adults choosing childlessness make for an eye-popping headline, but the flip side of this survey is also important, Kilgannon told The Washington Stand. According to the poll, 62% of young Americans have or do want to have children. Despite all the social pressures that convinced 30% of younger generations to disavow parenthood, twice as many young adults still have or want to have kids.

“We need to do what we can to encourage this healthy desire,” she urged. “Leaders in government can make policy choices that support and value the family and support marriage. We can prioritize economic policies that result in jobs where an American family can thrive on a single income stream. Entertainment executives can feature positive examples of happy families who face challenges and survive hard times together. Churches can start schools and ministries for families to support mothers, fathers, and children.”

Churches can also teach that “children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward” (Psalm 127:3). This is not unique to any time and place. It has been this way from the beginning, from the moment when God made the first husband and wife, “And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth …’” (Genesis 1:28).

“Marriage is a great blessing to everyone,” Kilgannon concluded, both “the couple in the marriage, and the society they create.”

LifeNews Note: Joshua Arnold is a staff writer at The Washington Stand, contributing both news and commentary from a biblical worldview. Originally published by The Washington Stand.

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