Kerby Anderson

The Western world is facing a birth rate crisis. Wilfred Reilly says these young adults resemble captive panda bears who must be persuaded to mate. He cites a psychological study that revealed that roughly 50 percent of young men have never or almost never approached a woman to ask for a date.

Even if men and women get married, they are less likely to have children. The fertility rate has been dropping for decades. That is why Edward Ring wrote a discouraging essay, “Give Me Fertility, Or Give Me Death.”

Unmarried, childless women are much more likely to vote for a Democratic candidate who supports abortion as “reproductive health care.” A recent study by Morgan Stanley estimated that by 2030, around 45 percent of women between ages 25 and 44 are projected to be single and childless.

And these trends are taking place through all the developed world and in much of the developing world. The U.S. has a fertility rate of 1.84, which is better than the 1.24 fertility rate of European countries like Italy or the 1.17 fertility rate for Singapore.

Some liberal women have embraced the “4B” movement that originated in South Korea that says no to sex, dating, marriage, and children. This is not a good trend. The projected fertility rate of South Korean women this year has dropped to 0.68. The population of South Korea is imploding.

It is time for pastors and other church leaders to remind Christians that children are a gift from God (Psalm 127:3) and they are arrows in our quiver (Psalm 127:4). The secular world may not value marriage and family, which is why the church must teach biblical principles to the next generation.