Catholicism and overpopulation

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How would the Church advise dealing with the problem of overpopulation?

I myself am on the fence about overpopulation. But just assume it’s true. How would the Church deal with it?
 
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There is no more effective form of birth control than economic development.

Economic development also often coincides with decreases in infant mortality. When fewer infants die due to preventable causes, people tend to naturally reduce the number of children they have.

So by enfranchising more of the global population, allowing them to enjoy greater prosperity and comfort, and by eliminating many of the preventable causes of infant mortality (both of which I assume are causes the Church can get behind), population growth tends to take care of itself.
 
Self-control and chastity would do the trick. (i know its an overly simple answer but i am short on time.)
 
I don’t think overpopulation is a problem globally. Look into Japan and their population issues.

It may be an isolated problem in less developed nations with fewer economic opportunities but that could be remedied with more development, not less people.

Sorry! I can’t read!
The church would not accept the premise, I don’t think. As all children are a gift from God. But if they did, continence, as someone else already said.
 
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White_Tree said:
There is no more effective form of birth control than economic development.

Economic development also often coincides with decreases in infant mortality. When fewer infants die due to preventable causes, people tend to naturally reduce the number of children they have.

So by enfranchising more of the global population, allowing them to enjoy greater prosperity and comfort, and by eliminating many of the preventable causes of infant mortality (both of which I assume are causes the Church can get behind), population growth tends to take care of itself.
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This is an outstanding observation! I’d never quite thought of it that way.

When people are more prosperous, healthier, and better-educated, they generally tend to want to have fewer children, and to devote their resources deeply to a few, rather than spreading them thinly among many. At first blush, it sounds like kind of a paradox, but it’s just the way things play out.

Please do not take this as a defense of artificial contraception or sterilization. Anybody who regularly reads these forums knows that I am a passionate foe of contraception, and that is something that will never change as long as I have a single breath of life in me. Only NFP is morally admissible.
 
StudentMI said:
How would the Church advise dealing with the problem of overpopulation?

I myself am on the fence about overpopulation. But just assume it’s true. How would the Church deal with it?
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Would God really overpopulate the world
 
ZemD said:
I don’t think overpopulation is a problem globally. Look into Japan and their population issues.
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What part has contraception played in Japanese population trends? I am assuming the Japanese People are not having vastly less sex than in the past.
 
In fact, an increasing number of Japanese males seem to be eschewing female relationships, but you are right, contraception is definitely part of the mix.

ICXC NIKA
 
StudentMI said:
I myself am on the fence about overpopulation. But just assume it’s true. How would the Church deal with it?
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Population swings. Currently, both the US (and can’t speak for Canada, but my guess is that it applies) and Europe are either teetering on the edge of replacement or are well below it; some countries in Europe may be irreversably below it unless they start having large (as in 4 kids or more) families.

And in fact it appears that other large areas throughout the world are on a down swing. The UN estimates are that population will continue to grow; but there are numerous studies indicating just the opposite.

China, for example, has pursued a “one child” program; but coupled with that and not spoken of widely is that their population has been skewing to a better than 50% male, and fewer females; and there have already been questions asked as to what that will do, with concerns of either in-country destabilization or possibly resulting in was, potentially with other countries.

The US fertility rate in 2018 was 1.8 children per woman; replacement rate is 2.1; and the 1.8 rate includes immigrants (particularly Hispanic, which tend to larger families).

The overall rate then was 2.4 children per woman; but countries with the lowest birth rates include Poland, South Korea, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Japan. Taiwan had an average of only 1 child. Both Africa and Afghanistan are in the 4 to 7 child range per woman.

Aleteia has had several articles on the matter; and the best evidence appears to be coming from Lancet.
 
The global average fertility rate is just below 2.5 children per woman today. Over the last 50 years the global fertility rate has halved. And over the course of the modernization of societies the number of children per woman decreases very substantially. In the pre-modern era fertility rates of 4.5 to 7 children per woman were common.

We need to worry about depopulation, not overpopulation.
 
I think the term overpopulation is hard to nail down. The planet itself can handle more people than we currently have but the question is, “should we push it to its limit”?

Our food production is capable of sustaining more than we currently have but there is a distribution problem. Corrupt governments keep food from their citizens and play political games with it. Clean water in certain areas is horrific and once again, politics play a large roll.

When people have food security and clean water and proper healthcare and economic opportunities, they tend to self regulate the number of children they have. When these things aren’t secure, they tend to have more children in the hope that some will live to adulthood and be able to care for them in their old age. Many societies don’t have old age security otherwise.

The question becomes, should we be getting involved in promoting or discouraging other people on their family size? It’s a hard question. If the people themselves overpopulate in an area where there are limited resources, nature tends to cull the herd and we despair having to watch that happen. If we give relief, the problems often continue. If we do nothing, what kind of people are we to just sit in our comfortable homes and watch.

We know what the answers are but we are often hamstrung in trying to accomplish it. Aid doesn’t get to the people it’s intended for. Corrupt governments plea for our aid then make themselves richer. Plus, we are very hesitant to give aid and economic development to governments we disagree with.

I’m not about to tell people how many children they should or shouldn’t have. I have to trust they make the best decisions for themselves and it’s none of my business since I don’t walk in their shoes nor understand all the nuances behind their family plans.
 
Most counties in the world have fertility rates that are below replacement rates. Here is a short video you may find helpful.

 
StudentMI said:
How would the Church advise dealing with the problem of overpopulation?
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Please demonstrate an actual overpopulation problem before asking how the church advising dealing with it.

Hint: it doesn’t.

The Church teaches responsible parenthood within the context of marriage. It teaches against government population control.
StudentMI said:
But just assume it’s true.
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Why should we do that?

False premises are not worth discussion.
StudentMI said:
How would the Church deal with it?
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Again, it doesn’t.
 
One of my hopes for the future is that the decreasing numbers of babies will become a future crisis everyone becomes very aware of and responds by changing values on the abortion issue. Scarcity increases the value of objects and can change the value we place on having our babies!

Imagine a world so horrified of not enough people to fund social security and starving for employees and not enough healthcare workers to treat their illnesses and no one to clean their homes and mow their lawns? Whenever it becomes apparent that there isn’t enough replacement to achieve their plans and it’s causing true hardships…abortion will also become unthinkable! No further need to worry about the legality of it, it will become moot.

Yes, I’m an optimist and it’s not going to happen before I die…but I like to think in these terms.
 
JimG said:
We need to worry about depopulation, not overpopulation.
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Maths would suggest that the numbers can tell us which to worry about! On a finite planet, overpopulation is a risk when the birth rate exceeds the death rate (for too long). It may take a while of course.

It is interesting to note that had there been no contraception, overpopulation would be an increased risk, approaching more rapidly. It is interesting to consider how mankind would have reacted in that case.
 
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I do hope you are right and that people recognize the depopulation danger before it becomes a reality of falling birthrates and aging populations worldwide. But I’m not so hopeful that will happen. If we ignore it there are all sorts of consequences including economic depression.
 
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