The Bible Can Fix Malthusian Population Decline

Biblical family-centered policies
yield stronger societies than secular,
materialist ideologies rooted in
evolutionary eugenics, cohabitation,
and population control.

From Genesis to Governance
A Biblical Response to Demographic Decline and Darwinian Thought

by Dr. Sarah Buckland-Reynolds

A resounding wave of alarm has recently swept the international demographic policy landscape: fears of an imminent (and in some case present) demographic collapse. At the 10th Annual Conference of the Global Forum on Productivity, cohosted by the UK Government and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (15 – 16 September 2025) experts identified the accelerated trends of shrinking populations as a major root cause of imminent economic fallout. This perspective challenges over a century of policy shaped by overpopulation anxieties and small-family advocacy. The message was clear: reversing demographic decline is now essential to sustaining productivity and long-term growth. Sentiments expressed at this forum echoed concerns highlighted in the OECD Employment Outlook in July 2025, which warned of global demographic decline and ageing populations as major barriers to sustainability and productivity.

Reversing demographic decline is now essential to sustaining productivity and long-term growth

An examination of the magnitude of demographic change over the past 75 years is indeed grounds for alarm. According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs  (UNDESA), the global average number of births per woman has declined by about 60% between the 1950’s and 2024. Whereas in the decade of the fifties, the average woman had five children, 2024 statistics show that the average woman of today bears only two children. More than half of the world’s countries have already dropped below the replacement level, highlighting this worrisome trend, and forecasts warn that nearly three-quarters will do so in the coming decades.

How did this happen?

How did we move from celebrating children to perceiving them as a threat to economic growth and resource sustainability?

While demographers often turn to economic theories to explain the current situation, an often-overlooked factor deserving closer scrutiny is the ideological roots of Darwinian materialism, Malthusian fear and secular utilitarianism that are now deeply entrenched in contemporary culture.

From Darwin to Decline: A Brief History

Darwinian theory and the eugenically rooted ‘population control’ movement were influenced by a seminal work by British demographer and economist, Thomas Malthus published in 1798. In Malthus’ Essay on the Principle of Population, unchecked population growth was viewed as the root of food shortages, with demographic growth being linked in theory to imminent catastrophes. Malthus believed that various ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ population ‘checks’ were necessary to ensure that population growth did not outpace resources. So devoted was Malthus to this idea, that among his proposed ‘positive checks,’ he regarded ‘natural balancing’ mechanisms —such as unsanitary conditions —as necessary means of reducing population growth. On page 179 (Volume II) of his essay he wrote:

“In our towns we should make the streets narrower, crowd more people into the houses and court the return of the plague. In the country, we should build our villages near stagnant pools and particularly encourage settlements in all marshy and unwholesome situations. But above all, we should reprobate specific remedies for ravaging diseases, and those benevolent but much mistaken men, who have thought they were doing a service to mankind by projecting schemes for the total extirpation of particular disorders.”

These ideas laid the groundwork for Charles Darwin, who, after reading the ideas of Thomas Malthus, is documented to have coined the term ‘struggle for existence,’ and developed the concepts of natural selection and adaptation, applying them to all species. Darwin’s cousin, Francis Galton in his 1883 work: ‘Inquiries into Human Faculty and its Development’, is recognized to have further built upon these foundations to form what is known as the ‘eugenics’ movement, a campaign to shape human populations through reproductive control.

Eugenics destroyed the human rights of those deemed “unfit.”

Despite only a few commentaries published in mainstream academic literature, eugenicist roots of population control policies have been publicly acknowledged in some recent publications. For instance, Lee’s (2025) research, published in the Sociology Compass concludes that “…the global population control campaign was not primarily a response to overpopulation. Instead, it aimed to limit the growth of “non-white” population as a means of consolidating white supremacy.”

Beyond the early roots of coercive population policies, which often targeted the poor and marginalized, neo-Malthusian population control policies have moved towards advocating for contraception and enabling the accessibility of abortion on demand as a means of population control.

Despite this fear-driven theory, recent evidence has shown that population control mechanisms such as abortions are largely driven by ideology, rather than any resource constraints or other discomforts theorized to be linked with rising populations.

In a  June 2025 article published in the Fortune Journal of Health Sciences, authors Studnicki and team made a startling admission noting that for the American context: “..the overwhelming percentage of induced abortions are performed on healthy mothers carrying healthy babies…” Recent upticks in abortion requests are not being based on any personal health risks, but being led by personal preferences shaped by ‘supply-induced demand.’ In the roughly 50 years since abortion was legalized in the USA, there have been an estimated 63 million abortions performed.

The Role of Values in Fertility Decline: A Look at the ‘Second Demographic Transition’ (SDT) Theory

Shocking shifts in population that began at the turn of the 20^th century, led to some demographers examining the role that other factors beyond health and resources play regarding population change. The steady decline in birth rates across European nations during these decades coincided with a shift toward secular values. This shift has been accompanied by dramatic changes away from traditional marriage norms, toward less stable patterns of cohabitation, which haves been shown to reduce the likelihood of childbearing within the household.

Delayed marriage, lower overall marriage rates and higher divorce rates have been identified as early indicators of demographic collapse – one that some sociologists theorize could have a point of no return.

Are there practical solutions to this issue?

Biblical Principles of Growth: A Look at the Success Case of Hungary

Interestingly, the key factors these sociologists identified as the main drivers of demographic collapse stand in stark contrast to the Biblical vision of human fruitfulness and multiplication. As Genesis 1:28 commands, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.”  Remarkably, increased attention has been turned to case studies of countries that have transformed their policy landscape by realigning it with these Biblical norms, because the outcomes have been successful. One such case study is Hungary.

In 2011, Hungary recorded a Total Fertility Rate of 1.23. Within a decade, with significant policy shifts, this increased by around 30% to 1.56. This fertility rebound from 2011 to the present is seen to have been fostered by policies supporting Biblical ideals of marriage through economic incentives, enhanced work-life balance, and s well as cultural messaging that frames family formation positively. Conversely, elective abortions are discouraged.

What is further remarkable about Hungary’s trajectory is that the country has experienced the effects of shifting policies: from liberal abortion laws (e.g., 1956) and pauses in pronatalist policies (e.g., the 1970s) to periods marked by spikes in cohabitation and divorce (e.g., the 1990’s).

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The Case to Return to Biblical Foundations

Biblical economics emphasizes the family founded by the marital union between one man and one woman as the foundation for societal flourishing (Genesis 2:24). In the Biblical worldview, children are not burdens but blessings; they are purposeful builders and bearers of the Image of God, contributing to the growth of families (Deuteronomy 28; Psalm 127:3). However, given the widespread entrenchment of evolutionary materialism in society, it is no surprise that this rise of materialism has coincided with the collapse of family values.

The current fiscal anxiety stemming from rapid demographic decline is what happens when societies treat human life as material and expendable, rather than as a precious gift from God. Conversely, real case studies have shown that when governments align their economic policy with Biblical ideals, the result is a flourishing society, with a sustainable future.

Demography today further shows the great wisdom of God contained in the Bible: Biblical teaching not only provides sound principles for spiritual flourishing but also confers significant social and economic benefits. Policies aligned with biblical principles— such as family incentives, and community care —promote economic growth, social cohesion, and intergenerational stability, demonstrating that these principles provide a far superior roadmap for policy than evolutionary theory.

Imagine the physical and spiritual blessings we could reap if we invested in stronger families and rejected materialistic evolutionary worldviews!

May more and more nations across the globe embrace Biblical truth as more than merely a spiritual refuge, but as a strategic framework for reversing economic stagnation and reigniting purpose across generations.

Ed. note: For more on Thomas Malthus and his influence on Darwin, see:

• Evolutionists justify infanticide (23 June 2022)
• The “Population Bomb” Bombed (26 April 2019)
• New Utopian Vision Requires Drastic Demotion of Humans (16 December 2018)
• Darwin and Malthus Were Wrong: Cooperation Is Key to Evolution (13 May 2016)
• Malthus Misled Darwin Who Misled the World (30 April 2014)
• The Malthus Effect on Politics and Economics (5 June 2007)
• The Factor Darwin (and Malthus) Didn’t Consider (17 March 2003)

Dr. Sarah Buckland-Reynolds is a Christian, Jamaican, Environmental Science researcher, and journal associate editor. She holds the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Geography from the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona with high commendation, and a postgraduate specialization in Geomatics at the Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia. The quality of her research activity in Environmental Science has been recognized by various awards including the 2024 Editor’s Award from the American Meteorological Society for her reviewing service in the Weather, Climate and Society Journal, the 2023 L’Oreal/UNESCO Women in Science Caribbean Award, the 2023 ICETEX International Experts Exchange Award for study in Colombia. and with her PhD research in drought management also being shortlisted in the top 10 globally for the 2023 Allianz Climate Risk Award by Munich Re Insurance, Germany. Motivated by her faith in God and zeal to positively influence society, Dr. Buckland-Reynolds is also the founder and Principal Director of Chosen to G.L.O.W. Ministries, a Jamaican charitable organization which seeks to amplify the Christian voice in the public sphere and equip more youths to know how to defend their faith.