Historical Legacies, Social Capital, and Women's Decision-Making Power: Religion and Child Nutrition in Mozambique

Overview

Journal J Relig Health

Publisher Springer

Specialties General Medicine
Psychology
Social Sciences

Date 2017 Dec 1

PMID 29188545

Citations 3

Authors

Victor Agadjanian

Natalie A Jansen

Affiliations

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Abstract

In sub-Saharan settings, parental religion may have important implications for children's health and well-being. Using survey data from rural Mozambique, we examine the relationship between women's religion and the likelihood of their children being chronically malnourished (stunted). Multivariate analyses show that children of religiously affiliated women are significantly less likely to be stunted than children of non-affiliated women. We also find a strong advantage of mainline Protestants, especially compared to members of Pentecostal-type denominations, net of other factors. We relate this advantage to two historically rooted characteristics of mainline Protestantism: its connections to the public health sector and higher levels of women's autonomy that it fosters.

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