Religious and fertility preferences of the Kassena-Nankana of northern Ghana

Henry V Doctor, Columbia University
James F. Phillips, Columbia University
Evelyn Sakeah, Navrongo Health Research Centre

Religious preference 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 changes in religious affiliation on the fertility preferences (measured by the desire to limit fertility) among the Kassena-Nankana of Northern Ghana. Longitudinal data (for women in 1995 and 2003) come from the Community Health and Family Planning Project of the Navrongo Health Research Centre and analysis shows that 61 percent of women switched their religion with shifts from traditional religion to Christianity being dominant. Regression results show that compared to traditional non-switchers, switching from traditional religion to Christianity or Islam is associated with increased desire to limit fertility. Switching from Christianity to Islam and viceversa is also associated with increased desire to limit fertility. These results may have social consequences for the status of women particularly their desire towards small families.