discrimination of atheists

[kandrathe]

It seems that that particular cultural imperative is not restricted to Western Europe.

I've read that for places like India, or Africa, having a large number of children correlates with poverty. It is not necessarily a birth control affordability issue, so much as a means to ensure greater family wealth and insurance for parents to have care givers in their "retirement". More children can help gather, or grow food, tend livestock, or work for the family in other ways. In more affluent places, people don't need to rely on their children to care for them when they get old. But, as we shall soon experience the downside in the US, and China will soon also. In the US in 2010, there are 5 workers for each retiree (although with progressiveness that is more like 1 rich person paying 55% of the old persons way, and 4 middle class people paying 22.5% each) . In 2020, that goes to 4 to 1, and in 2030 it goes to 3 to 1. Our current government services consumes about 20% of GDP much of which goes into medicare, and social security (they are combined about 41% of the federal budget).