Doctor Henry V, Phillips James F, Sakeah Evelyn
Statistics South Africa, Private Bag x44, Pretoria 0001, South Africa.
Stud Fam Plann. 2009 Jun;40(2):113-22. doi: 10.1111/j.1728-4465.2009.00194.x.
Religious affiliation is undergoing major changes in rural Sahelian Africa, with profound consequences for customs that are grounded in traditional belief systems. This study examines the influence of women's religious affiliation on contraceptive use and fertility among the Kassena-Nankana of northern Ghana. Analysis of longitudinal data for women in 1995 and 2003 shows that 61 percent of women changed their religion, with shifts from traditional beliefs to Christianity being dominant. Moreover, women were more likely than men to make such a change. Regression results show that, compared with those who did not change, switching from traditional religion to Christianity or Islam is associated with increased contraceptive use and decreased fertility. The more rapid change in religious affiliation among women than men may have social consequences for the status of women, signaling a trend toward greater autonomy in the family and new aspirations, values, and behavior as evidenced by the proportion of people adopting contraceptives.
宗教归属在萨赫勒地区的非洲农村正在经历重大变化，这对基于传统信仰体系的习俗产生了深远影响。本研究考察了加纳北部卡塞纳-南卡纳地区妇女的宗教归属对避孕措施使用和生育情况的影响。对1995年和2003年妇女纵向数据的分析表明，61%的妇女改变了宗教信仰，从传统信仰转向基督教的转变占主导地位。此外，女性比男性更有可能做出这种改变。回归结果显示，与未改变宗教信仰的人相比，从传统宗教转向基督教或伊斯兰教与避孕措施使用增加和生育率下降有关。女性宗教归属的变化比男性更快，这可能会对女性地位产生社会影响，表明家庭中女性自主权增强的趋势以及新的愿望、价值观和行为，采用避孕措施的人口比例就是证明。
