Regional demographic differences: the effect of Laestadians

Laestadianism, a conservative revival movement inside the Lutheran church, has an
estimated 100,000 followers in Finland. Laestadians have characteristics differing
from the followers of the mainstream state church in areas such as religious activity,
regional concentration, fertility and family planning, but these are generally not
quantified due to lack of easily accessible data. This study highlights the importance
of including location and religiosity, and not only religious affiliation in the study
of fertility behaviour. The research uses statistical tools to study the correlations
between such variables as religious density and total fertility rate. It is found that on
the regional level, the total fertility rate and the increasing number of small children
in the family is positively associated with the proportion of Laestadians. The regional
variation of religiousness, and the subsequent effects on population structure and
socioeconomics are discussed.