Scholars have long recognized that participation in religious congregations is strongly linked to fertility outcomes, and this relationship has practical implications for religious, social and political life in the United States. Yet, the way in which congregational participation affects fertility is not well understood. The Theory of Conjunctural Action suggests that congregational participation affects fertility both by teaching schemas that valorize family formation and by creating material conditions conducive to family formation. However, other research found that congregational participation was simply a proxy for learned schemas, with no additional impact on fertility. The present study explores this question using the Pew Research Center’s 2011 National Survey of Mormons and the 2013 Survey of U.S. Jews. These two minority religious groups represent similarly pronatalist religious traditions but opposite extremes in terms of both fertility (i.e., Mormons have higher fertility) and congregational participation (i.e., Mormons have higher participation). The analysis reveals that congregational participation and intra-group friendships have an independent effect on fertility, even controlling for learned schemas. This suggests that the influence of group participation on fertility is not solely due to its impact on learned schemas, but also due to the impact of material elements such as religious social networks. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

中文翻译：

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难以置信：教会成员如何影响美国摩门教徒和犹太人的生育能力

学者们早就认识到，参加宗教聚会与生育结果密切相关，这种关系对美国的宗教、社会和政治生活具有实际意义。然而，会众参与影响生育的方式尚不清楚。联合行动理论表明，会众参与通过教授促进家庭形成的模式和创造有利于家庭形成的物质条件来影响生育率。然而，其他研究发现，会众参与只是学习模式的代表，对生育率没有额外影响。本研究使用皮尤研究中心 2011 年全国摩门教徒调查和 2013 年美国犹太人调查来探讨这个问题。这两个少数宗教团体代表了类似的生育宗教传统，但在生育率（即摩门教徒的生育率更高）和会众参与（即摩门教徒的参与率更高）方面却是相反的极端。分析表明，会众参与和组内友谊对生育率具有独立影响，甚至控制了学习图式。这表明群体参与对生育率的影响不仅是由于其对习得图式的影响，而且还受到宗教社会网络等物质要素的影响。讨论了未来研究的局限性和方向。摩门教徒的参与度更高）。分析表明，会众参与和组内友谊对生育率具有独立影响，甚至控制了学习图式。这表明群体参与对生育率的影响不仅是由于其对习得图式的影响，而且还受到宗教社会网络等物质要素的影响。讨论了未来研究的局限性和方向。摩门教徒的参与度更高）。分析表明，会众参与和组内友谊对生育率具有独立影响，甚至控制了学习图式。这表明群体参与对生育率的影响不仅是由于其对习得图式的影响，而且还受到宗教社会网络等物质要素的影响。讨论了未来研究的局限性和方向。但也由于宗教社交网络等物质因素的影响。讨论了未来研究的局限性和方向。但也由于宗教社交网络等物质因素的影响。讨论了未来研究的局限性和方向。