Competition for the Female Mind in Africa




Almost daily one can read that the Catholic Church is expanding in Africa. Evangelical groups are also marketing there. I remember watching Pat Robertson almost gleefully telling of winning over a crowd by claiming his god will fight the demon feared by that particular group.

But, there is another force in Africa and in other poor nations that has something else in mind. This other force believes that women are the force for a better life for both men and women. This force is found in NGO's (Non Governmental Organizations) funded by non profit groups. Melinda Gates, for example, has put a lot of money into Africa. Dozens of other groups promoting micro loans, education and the like are doing the same.

While I risk over generalizing, these groups see women as held back by having too many babies. They are unable to work as much while pregnant and their time used raising the children contributes to family poverty. The impact of these NGO's is so large some Africans who are religious are complaining. They say "African values" are being changed by these non religious organizations. These complainers go so far as to say NGO's are conducting a colonization of Africa.

Branches of Christianity like the Catholics think high fertility rates will swell their numbers. They of course do not address the seemingly inevitable force of economics on the fertility of women.

Children are economic assets in some settings. Families who depend on labor intensive farming find each additional child adds more to the family's income than it consumes. When economic circumstances change and hand labor is less valuable, each additional child becomes a financial drain on family resources.

As woman gain influence in both family and national political life the first thing to go is large numbers of children. This has happened so many times in history it is common knowledge.

NGO's are explaining to women that birth control and abortion can raise their standard of living and religious leaders do not like it.

https://freethinkerjon.blogspot.com




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