Glen Ishino HW#3 Country Comparisons

Glen Ishino
Soc 166 HW #3
• Bolivia
o Roman Catholic 95%
o Pop growth rate 1.69%
o Birth rate 25/1000
o Death rate 6.85/1000
o Infant death rate – 42/1000
o Life expectancy at birth – 67 years
o Average income 4,800
• Brazil
o Roman Catholic (nominal) 73.6%
o Pop growth rate 1.113%
o Birth rate 17.9/1000
o Death rate 6.36/1000
o Infant mortality rate 21/1000
o Life expectancy 72.5 years
o Average income 10,800
• Cuba
o nominally Roman Catholic 85%
o pop growth rate -.1%
o birth rate 10/1000
o death rate 7.47/1000
o infant mortality rate 5/1000
o life expectancy 77.7
o average income 9,900
• Croatia
o Roman Catholic 87.8%
o Pop growth rate - -0.076%
o Birth rate 9.6/1000
o Death rate 11.9/1000
o Infant mortality 6.16/1000
o Life expectancy 75.8 years
o Average income 17,400
• Dominican Republic
o Roman Catholic 95%
o Pop growth rate – 1.311%
o Birth rate – 20/1000
o Death rate 4.3/1000
o Infant mortality rate – 22.22/1000
o Life expectancy 77.3 years
o Average income 8,900
• Honduras
o Roman Catholic 97%
o Pop growth rate 1.88%
o Birth rate 25/1000
o Death rate 5/1000
o Infant mortality rate 20.4/1000
o Life expectancy 70 years
o Average income 4,200
OUTGROUP
• Japan
o Pop growth rate -0.28%
o Birth rate 7.31/1000
o Death rate 10.09/1000
o Infant mortality rate 2.78/1000
o Life expectancy 82.25
o Average income 34,000
• Israel
o Pop growth rate 1.584%
o Birth rate 19.25/1000
o Death rate 5.5/1000
o Infant mortality rate 4.12/1000
o Life expectancy 80.96
o Average income 29,800
• Greece
o Pop growth rate 0.083%
o Birth rate 9.21/1000
o Death rate 10.7/1000
o Infant mortality rate 5/1000
o Life expectancy 79.92 years
o Average income 29,600

I have decided to look at the following nations that had very high percentages of Roman Catholicism: Bolivia, Brazil, Cuba, Croatia, Dominican Republic, and Honduras. Furthermore I used the following nations as the out-group with a very low presence of Catholicism influence: Japan, Israel, and Greece. For the countries I chose with high roman catholic practices overall had a higher birth rate, but there were also some countries (Croatia and Cuba) that were around 10 per 1000 which is very close to Greece’s birth rate. Overall the general GDP per capita, simply average income if GDP were to be distributed equally to all within that country, seems to be related to Catholicism at first glance, however, many of the countries that I chose were either in or near South America with the exception of Croatia. These countries generally have a lower GDP per capita which can be explained further than simply their religious practices. For example, I know that Luxembourg has a very high Roman Catholic presence and are within the top 3 in the world with regards to GDP. I do not believe that a religious practice could seriously hinder the growth and stimulation of other countries economically. I do believe that the lack of modernization, industrialization, and globalization can seriously lower GDP and wealth, which ultimately transcribes into health. Countries with a higher GDP have lower infant mortality and a higher life expectancy but that cannot be justified by solely religious practice. To me, it makes more sense to correlate such factors to the amount of wealth within that country since if you have more money then you are able to distribute more drugs, have better living conditions, have better access to the best doctors, etc. etc. In conclusion, Catholicism may be linked to a general higher birth rate, however, the specific countries I randomly chose may not illustrate this claim. I do believe that birth rates can be affected by it, but fail to see how it could ever effect education, income, or life expectancy.