Religious Influence and Population Pressures

Abstract

Religious factors affect the occurrence and toleration of high population densities. This may be temporarily acceptable at focal sites like Mecca or Lourdes but not in people’s home areas. The density of population in a monastery may be high but there are institutional arrangements which control the resulting stress. The same density in a newly established commune based on ethical if not religious principles would find the situation more difficult to manage. A Hindu joint household with sons and their wives living with their parents is not a particularly stressful situation for those involved, whereas it might not work for English Christians.