Abstract
This article considers the association between religion, family formation and social trends in Iran from a socio-demographic perspective. Iran has experienced one of the most spectacular falls in birth rate ever experienced in human history. The fundamental socio-cultural changes over the past few decades have made it a unique ‘social laboratory’ for the analysis of determinants of changes in marriage and fertility patterns. While emphasising the distinctiveness of the country case study, the article also provides evidence relating to the long-standing debate as to whether religion or factors other than religion explain such characteristics as early marriage, high incidence of marriage and high fertility in so-called Islamic contexts.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
